Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met on 25 April with the participants of the First Meeting of the Heads of External Relations Committees of the Turkic States’ Parliaments, due to take place at the Milli Majlis today.

Expressing her deep contentment with the opportunity to welcome the guests at the Milli Majlis, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova voiced her confidence that the First Meeting of the Heads of External Relations Committees of the Turkic States’ Parliaments would be a success and would have useful discussions.

Sahiba Gafarova mentioned the initiative of such a meeting having been proposed by President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Representatives of the parliaments of the brotherly countries, the parliaments that are members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States, are here today, she said. At the same time, the representatives of the Parliament of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which holds the observer status in both the Organisation of Turkish States and in the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States, are going to take part in the gathering, too. We have recently set up a working group on relations with the Parliament of Northern Cyprus in our Parliament, which shows our interest in developing relations – both in bilateral and multilateral formats, according to Mrs Gafarova.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis mentioned the extraordinary presidential election conducted in Azerbaijan on 7 February this year. It was for the first time that that election had been organised in all the sovereign territories of the country. As he spoke at the inauguration ceremony at the Milli Majlis, covering Azerbaijan’s agenda in the New Time, the newly-elected President Ilham Aliyev referred to the Turkic World as our family and said we had no other. He emphasised specifically the strengthening of the existing co-operation mechanism of the Turkic World – the Organisation of Turkic States – and turning it into an important player and centre of power globally being amongst the topmost foreign political priorities of Azerbaijan. There is every favourable condition to achieve such a goal, too. The Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States uniting the legislatures of our brotherly states under one canopy is of particular importance at this time of the growing role of parliaments and parliamentary diplomacy at the international level.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis remarked as the conversation continued that today’s developments in our region as well as the global ones and the existing challenges necessitate a reinforcement of the joint work of the external relations committees of the parliaments of our sibling countries. Hence the need in such a meeting. Quite tense processes unfold around the world today; our countries are dealing with various pressures and double standards. It is clear to see what kind of pressure, what secretly conceived plans Azerbaijan is facing today, having liberated – by her own efforts – he lands from 30 years of occupation.

The Chairman of the External Relations Committee of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Fuat Oktay who was present at the meeting thanked for the hospitality and talked about the importance of the First Meeting of the Heads of External Relations Committees of the Turkic States’ Parliaments. According to Fuad Oktay, this initiative of President Ilham Aliyev is immensely significant inasmuch as the institutional growth of our parliamentary External Relations Committees’ ties is concerned but also for the co-ordination of concerted efforts and mutual support in international organisations. Mr Oktay expressed his gratitude to the Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova and the Heads of Parliament of the Member States for their support to the relevant co-operation. Speaking then on the need for unity amongst the Turkic States, Fuad Oktay emphasised that strength is in unity.

There was also an exchange of opinions about the processes current in the region and about the Azerbaijani-Armenian relations at the meeting. It was said that the meeting participants were going to visit Shusha and Khankendi tomorrow.

The participants of the meeting were Chairman of the International and Inter-Parliamentary Relations of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Samad Seyidov, Deputy Chairman of the International Affairs, Defence and Security Committee of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aydos Sarym, Deputy Chairwoman of the International Affairs, Defence, Security and Migration Committee of the Joğorqu Keñeş of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Ms Leyla Lurova, Chairwoman of the International Relations and Inter-Parliamentary Connexions Committee of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Ms Dilorom Favziyeva, Chairwoman of the Law, Political Affairs and External Relations Committee of the Majlis of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus Ms Yasemin Öztürk, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States Mehmet Süreyya Er and other officials.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis