Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with a visiting delegation led by Chairman of the External Relations Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Fuat Oktay on 18 July.

Praising Mr Oktay’s endeavours as Turkish Vice President and Co-Chairman of the Turkish-Azerbaijani Joint Inter-Governmental Commission for Economic Co-operation, Speaker Gafarova also congratulated him on election to helm the GNAT committee. Azerbaijan had followed closely the election that had culminated in the victory of the AKP and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s re-election as Head of the Turkish State, according to Mrs Gafarova. Approximately 30 members of the Milli Majlis had been amongst the international observers at that ballot, she added.

The significance of the latest visit of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to Türkiye and of the high-status meetings and meetings and their role in furthering our relationship were underscored afterwards.

As it had invariably done, Türkiye was supporting Azerbaijan’s just cause at the time of the 44 days’ Patriotic War, the conclusion of which was crowned with the leaders of the two sibling countries inking the Shusha Declaration and raising the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations to a new level in that way.

Turning then to the topic of bilateral inter-parliamentary relations, Sahiba Gafarova noted the work done by the inter-parliamentary friendship groups and said she was confident that the co-operation agreement signed between the GNAT and the Milli Majlis in April this year would have a positive impact on the progress of our relations. As for the foundation in 2014 of trilateral collaboration between the legislatures of Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Georgia, then, 8 meetings have been held in this format so far, and this is crucial for regional co-operation. It would be useful to establish similar interaction between other committees of our parliaments as well, in the opinion of Mrs Gafarova.

As the meeting continued, Mrs Gafarova told of the large-scale construction and restoration work that has been going on in the lands freed in the aftermath of the Patriotic War, and of the peace process and its advance, too. She said confidently that Armenia was going to comprehend the new regional realia and appreciate Azerbaijan’s peace initiative.

GNAT Committee Chairman Fuat Oktay said he was satisfied with the visit to Azerbaijan. He shared the impressions from the conversation he had had with President Ilham Aliyev yesterday, adding that the alliance established within the frameworks of the Shusha Declaration gave both sides splendid opportunities.

Mr Oktay mentioned the backing given – as ever – to Türkiye by the state and people of Azerbaijan following the February earthquake, and thanked the Azerbaijani side for the support.

Further, Mr Oktay presented his views on the importance of parliamentary diplomacy, the prospects of co-operation in the TÜRKPA, further expansion of the ties between our countries in economic, trade, energy, transport and other fields, as well as major projects being implemented in the region.

Other topics of shared interest were broached during the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis