The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kasim-Jomart Tokayev, currently in Azerbaijan on a state visit, has called at the Milli Majlis.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova welcomed the guest.

The President of Kazakhstan acquainted himself with the Chamber of the Milli Majlis.

At the meeting that followed, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis expressed pleasure at the opportunity to greet the distinguished guest at the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan. As she talked about the visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kasim-Jomart Tokayev to Azerbaijan, his meetings with President Ilham Aliyev and the conversations held, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova emphasised that this visit presented itself as yet another manifestation of our peoples’ friendship and brotherhood, and that it would contribute to further strengthening and expansion of the ties between our countries.

It was remarked in the course of the conversation that the Azerbaijani and Kazakh people were bound with their common cultural and spiritual staples. It is on such a solid foundation that our connections build up – the connections that had been expanding since the two states became independent and, eventually, graduated to the level of strategic partnership and alliance.

As regards the linkage of our legislatures, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis described their interaction as one of the dramatic positive factors influencing the bilateral and multilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova was commenting on several adverse developments evident in the world today when she voiced the concern about such tendencies as double standards and Islamophobia. Our bilateral co-operation takes on yet greater importance under such circumstances.

The Speaker gravitated on the significance of co-operation in the TurkPA. The Speaker of the Milli Majlis recalled President Ilham Aliyev having defined the co-operation within the Organisation of Turkic States as a priority area in his inauguration speech in the Parliament. The Head of State had emphasised that our family was the Turkic World and that we had to work together to ensure that the Organisation of Turkic States became a weighty actor and centre of strength in the global arena. Sahiba Gafarova underlined the necessity of having our parliamentarians continue the joint efforts to make the TurkPA stronger. The work done in the TurkPA brings our nations together whilst also affording extensive opportunities for a continued deepening and strengthening of the ties between our countries.

The President of Kazakhstan voiced satisfaction with his visit to Azerbaijan and being at the Milli Majlis, which, he recalled, he had visited thrice when he had been Speaker of the Senate. According to President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev, that, too, is a sign of respect for the Parliament and the people of Azerbaijan.

He mentioned having congratulated the President of Azerbaijan on his remarkable victory in the presidential election. Also, President Tokayev congratulated the Azerbaijani side on the forthcoming hosting of the COP29.

Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and allied states, according to President Kasim-Jomart Tokayev who emphasised the special responsibility that meant for us.

Also, President Tokayev underscored Azerbaijan’s growing role in the region; he said that his country was interested in co-operating with Azerbaijan comprehensively. President Tokayev said that issues related to co-operation in petroleum and other industries, logistics, digital technologies and other fields had been the main topics he had discussed with President Ilham Aliyev.

The conversation continued with President Tokayev telling of Kazakhstan’s economic, industrial, digitalisation, agricultural and other achievements – and of the plans for the future. He then touched on our countries’ co-operation in transport & logistics projects, the Middle Corridor projects and others before highlighting the necessity of furthering also the humanitarian ties. In this relation, President Tokayev said he was certain that the Kazakh Culture Days held in Azerbaijan had made our peoples closer to each other. He thanked the Government of Azerbaijan for its support with the hosting of the Kazakh Culture Days in Baku and added that the agenda had an item of holding the Azerbaijani Culture Days in Kazakhstan as well.

Kazakhstan’s Head of State praised the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the progress of the inter-state relations, after which he spoke of the significance of fruitful co-operation in international organisations including the Organisation of Turkic States. The President of Kazakhstan expressed satisfaction with the existing co-operation of the two countries in this area. According to President Tokayev, the inter-legislature links constitute a dramatic facet of the bilateral relations. Kasim-Jomart Tokayev also underscored the importance of co-operating in a number of parliamentary organisations.

Sahiba Gafarova thanked the distinguished guest for the great weight and appraisal given to parliamentary diplomacy; she then spoke of parliamentary diplomacy’s considerable role in broadening our relations.

She said with satisfaction that a very efficient kind of co-operation has been arranged between the two legislative assemblies to date. There are fine links and close contacts between the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan and, on the other hand, the Mazhilis and the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan. The friendship groups active in both legislatures were mentioned as well; it was then said that reciprocal visits of our MPs and periodical meetings in influential international parliamentary entities promoted the advancement of the bilateral relations.

It was stressed that there are many good opportunities to make the bilateral parliamentary connections yet more profound. The active interaction of parliamentary committees was mentioned as one of the substantial areas in which joint efforts are to be applied.

There was also an exchange of opinions about other matters of shared interest as the meeting continued.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis