Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with the President of the UN General Assembly Volkan Bozkır and his delegation currently in Azerbaijan on 9 April.

Madame Chair welcomed the guests sincerely before underlining the great importance that Azerbaijan attaches to furthering its relations with the UN and saying that our country is actively involved in peace and security discussions with the branches of this influential international organisation. Azerbaijan is also making visible contributions to the events organised under the auspices of the UN. It is not for nothing, Madame Chair remarked, that high-level meetings were called to discuss counter-terrorism and the partnership between the UN and the Muslim World while Azerbaijan was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Our country was most immediately involved in the crucial decision-making on international security. Azerbaijani peace-keepers are active serving with the peace-making missions in Afghanistan and South Sudan under the UN mandate.

Azerbaijan does not spare efforts to bring solutions to global issues closer, either. For instance, it was at the suggestion of our country as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement that a special session of the UN General Assembly was convened to discuss the countering of COVID-19. The importance of solidifying international co-operation to ensure this problem is solved was emphasised at that gathering.

Mrs Gafarova also lauded the new Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2021-2025 signed by the UN and Azerbaijan.

Going further, she recalled the four resolutions of the UN Security Council concerning the already-bygone conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, stressing that Azerbaijan had enforced those documents and made its national territory whole again in the course of the 44-day Patriotic War. Armenia, though, has not handed over the maps of the minefields left in the freed lands still; this is a war crime and the source of huge security problems. The Azerbaijani Side count on the international community’s support in resolving this issue. Having those minefield maps will make it possible to accelerate the restoration work afoot in Garabagh, according to Madame Chair.

Thanking for the warm reception, Volkan Bozkır said he was proud of the fact that one of his first visits as the UN General Assembly President was to Azerbaijan. The UN, he noted, viewed Azerbaijan as a country of high importance to itself and aimed to deepen the relations.

The special UN session held at the suggestion of the President of Azerbaijan during the pandemic received considerable international public attention. The UN also appreciates very much the pandemic-related assistance that Azerbaijan extended to other countries and some organisations, Mr Bozkır was saying. Now, then, we should all stand together and get ready for new challenges in the post-pandemic era, in his opinion.

Chairman of the Milli Majlis Health Committee Ahliman Amiraslanov, Chief of the Milli Majlis Staff Safa Mirzayev and other officials attended the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis