Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting on 6 November with the visiting delegation led by Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenković.

Sahiba Gafarova spoke about the friendly bonds and mutually advantageous co-operation between our countries, noting also that the bilateral relations had evolved into strategic partnership over the past years. The contribution of high-level trips and meetings as well as of reciprocal visits of the two Heads of State to that progress was brought up, too.

Having underscored the importance of humanitarian interaction to match our co-operation in all the other areas, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis emphasised that a continued collaboration between Azerbaijan and Croatia in education, sciences and culture as well as mutual cultural events and other activities of the kind served the cause of making the two nations closer to each other.

Also, Mrs Gafarova broached the inter-parliamentary links and fondly recalled the conversation she had had with Speaker of Hrvatski Sabor Davorko Vidović at the time of his visit to Azerbaijan to attend a special National Leader Heydar Aliyev Centenary sitting of the Milli Majlis in May this year. The existing Azerbaijani-Croatian inter-legislature connexions are a factor of substantial and benevolent influence upon our bilateral and multilateral relations, Sahiba Gafarova remarked.

The unique role of the two parliaments’ friendship groups in the advancement of the relationship was touched upon as well. It was also stressed that regular contacts, the dialogue and exchanges of opinions had a special effect on the deepening of the existing relations.

The conversation went on to the situation in our region following the end of the 44 days’ Patriotic War, Azerbaijan’s anti-terrorist measures of September this year as well as the on-going restoration and rearrangement of the Azerbaijani lands delivered from the invaders’ grip. Sahiba Gafarova said that Armenia had held 20 per cent of the territory of Azerbaijan under occupation for 30 years and that our country had suffered from the world’s double standards for all those three decades. All that time, the decrees and resolutions of international organisations regarding termination of the Armenian occupation and unconditional liberation of our lands had remained on paper only. Azerbaijan, then, enforced the well-known resolutions of the UN Security Council and in so doing restored both her territorial integrity and the historical justice in 2020.

Azerbaijan aspires for peace; the peace will ensure stability and security across the whole region, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis pointed out.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said he was glad to be at the Azerbaijani parliament before he made Sahiba Gafarova aware of the agenda of his visit to our country and the meetings held during it. The guest highlighted the import of the two-way visits between Croatia and Azerbaijan, and said that numerous matters had been talked over in the course of his current visit.

Other matters of shared interest were discussed as well as the meeting continued.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis