Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova who is in the Republic of Korea on an official visit has had a meeting with Co-|Chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) Chung Eui-yong on 2 November.

Chung Eui-yong said he was glad of a meeting with the head of the legislature of Azerbaijan and recalled his own several visits to Azerbaijan as well as the kindly impressions he had from our country and her capital city of Baku. He also fondly remembered his conversation with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in 2015. In the opinion of Chung Eui-yong, Azerbaijan helmed by Ilham Aliyev is advancing along a path of stable development politically speaking. Besides, Mr Eui-yong said, Azerbaijan had accomplished successful rehabilitation following the COVID-19 pandemic and has reached a considerable economic upheaval by now.

In turn, Speaker Gafarova witnessed her satisfaction with the current visit to the Republic of Korea as well as her meeting with the ICAPP Chair before she told him of the conversations that had taken place during this visit. Mrs Gafarova also said she believed that there would be activities to solidify and broaden the ties between the parliaments of the two countries.

The present state of the Azerbaijani-Korean relations is very gratifying; our countries maintain an energetic political dialogue and close economic co-operation, both of which amount to a solid guarantee that bilateral interaction will advance in many fields.

Korea finds it intensely important to further her relations with Azerbaijan, according to Chung Eui-yong. All the Korean political parties are in favour of strong co-operation with Azerbaijan and consider our country a close friend regardless of whether they are in power or in opposition, the ICAPP Leader said.

Sahiba Gafarova then broached the subject of the global initiatives that had come from President Ilham Aliyev during the Azerbaijani chairmanship in the Non-Aligned Movement. The emergence of the NAM Youth Organisation and Parliamentary Network were mentioned in particular.

Next, the Head of the Milli Majlis and the ICAPP Chairman talked over possible co-operation between the NAM PN and the ICAPP as well as the diverse interaction vectors of the New Azerbaijan Party and the ICAPP, and the important events that the Conference had placed in Baku.

It was said then that the New Azerbaijan Party had since 2009 been a member of the ICAPP that unites more than 370 political parties withal. Sahiba Gafarova underscored the significance of the PNA activities within the ICAPP and the Azerbaijani ruling political party’s invariable support to the Conference. The PNA has been a leading force in the Azerbaijani political scene since the party’s inception, according to Mrs Gafarova who went further to emphasise that the party had been founded by the Azerbaijanis’ National Leader, remarkable statesman Heydar Aliyev whose centenary is celebrated in Azerbaijan in 2023.

Chung Eui-yong then updated Sahiba Gafarova on the co-operation between the ICAPP and the PNA. He thanked the PNA for the energetic backing to the ICAPP’s work and for its active involvement in the Conference’s operation.

Going further, Sahiba Gafarova spoke about the current situation in our region, the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s lands having taken 30 years, the restoration of our country’s territorial integrity in 2020 and the continuing reclamation of the Azerbaijani provinces delivered from the invaders’ grip. According to the Speaker of the Milli Majlis, we have never ever witnessed double standards in the ICAPP; on the contrary, the Conference has always approached developments without bias and has invariably advocated peace and security based on international law standards and principles.

Speaker Gafarova told also about Azerbaijan’s having repaired her sovereignty consequent to the local anti-terrorist measures of September this year – the measures that had strictly targeted illegal military groups and infrastructure whereas civil populace and facilities had never once been assaulted, with any claim to the contrary bound to be unfounded. Mrs Gafarova, besides, made Chung Eui-yong aware of the progress of the reintegration of the Garabagh Region’s ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijan’s peace initiatives.

The conversation went on; there were exchanges of opinions about other subjects of shared interest.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis