Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting with the visiting delegation led by Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili on 5 May.

Madame Speaker greeted the guests sincerely before describing Azerbaijan and Georgia as neighbours and friendly countries whose friendship has the centuries-old history.

Our nations supported each other throughout centuries. There are many Georgians in Azerbaijan and many Azerbaijanis live in Georgia; they make integral parts of the corresponding societies and play the role of a certain bridge connecting our countries between which there are strategic partnership and alliance today.

The documents that Azerbaijan and Georgia have signed provide a powerful legal framework for the versatile bilateral co-operation. Georgia is an active participant of the projects implemented by Azerbaijan as is demonstrated vividly by such initiatives as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline.

Sahiba Gafarova went further to underscore the commendable co-operation between the two parliaments each of which has a friendship group in action. The co-operation is expanding bilaterally and multilaterally; the two sides’ delegations interact with success under the auspices of international interparliamentary institutions.

Speaking on her behalf and on behalf of the Milli Majlis deputies, the Chair of the Azerbaijani Parliament thanked Georgia for supporting Azerbaijan during the 44-day Patriotic War before stressing that the ‘Highland Garabagh Conflict’ was history. The Azerbaijani Army led by the Commander-in-Chief Mr Ilham Aliyev had resolved the former conflict independently whilst enforcing the four resolutions of the UN Security Council into the bargain. Our country is busy restoring and rebuilding the liberated territories already. However, Armenia will not desist from its policy aggression and now will not release minefield maps, which results in numerous military and civilian deaths and injuries. This is Armenia’s way of attempting to hinder the restoration work and the internally displaced people’s eventual return to the native lands. Such conduct on the part of Armenia poses serious threats to the progress of the region, in Mrs Gafarova’s view.

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili thanked Mrs Gafarova for the warm welcome and talked with satisfaction of the conversations held during the visit. The guest stressed that he considered Azerbaijan as a home country.

‘Georgia is a friend of Azerbaijan and so it will remain,’ PM Garibashvili remarked before expressing an intention to deepen the relations with Azerbaijan further.

The on-going expansion of the two parliaments’ mutual relations serves the common interests of our nations; reciprocal visits and regular meetings of our deputies matter much in this regard, according to PM Garibashvili.

There was an exchange of opinions about the subjects of interest to both sides during the conversation.

Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis Fazail Ibrahimli, Leader of the Milli Majlis Working Group for interparliamentary contacts with Georgia Arzu Naghiyev, Chief of Staff of the Milli Majlis Safa Mirzayev, the two countries’ ambassadors Faig Guliyev and Zurab Pataradze and other officials were taking part in the meeting as well.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis