Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with a delegation led by Deputy Secretary General of NATO Radmila Šekerinska on 22 January.

It was emphasised at the meeting that the co-operation between Azerbaijan and NATO had lasted for longer than 30 years; the role of the Alliance in maintaining international peace and security was praised.

During the conversation, the parties high-lit the importance of their continuing consistent and substantive dialogue, saying that the visits of President Ilham Aliyev to the NATO Headquarters, the visit of the former Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg to Azerbaijan in 2024 as well as the negotiations held and the regular contacts had injected a new dynamic in the partnership; those moves were described as tokens of the intensity of the political dialogue. Azerbaijan was described as a reliable NATO partner who stays committed to her obligations; they underlined the activity of our country in the Alliance’s peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan as well as her significance as a regional transport and logistical hub.

Azerbaijan’s contribution to the energy security of the Alliance was broached as the meeting went on; it was mentioned that our country exports natural gas to 10 Member States and 2 Partner Countries of NATO currently, which is especially important in a period when energy security has become an inseparable component of national security. The Speaker, besides, pointed up Azerbaijan’s key transit role in the Middle Corridor, which, according to her, contributes to stability and co-operation in the region materially.

Addressing the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Sahiba Gafarova recalled our country’s having recovered sovereignty and created new realia in the region under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. It was pointed out that it was Azerbaijan to have come up with a peace initiative and taken consistent and practical steps to further co-operation with Armenia in the wake of the Washington Summit.

Deputy Secretary General of NATO Radmila Šekerinska said that the Alliance attached a special importance to the furtherance of the relations with Azerbaijan and valued the political dialogue of the parties highly; she said she was certain that the relations would grow deeper yet eventually within the frameworks of the new Partnership Programme. She also thanked for Azerbaijan’s input in the co-operation with NATO and the maintenance of the energy secretaries of the Alliance’s Member Countries, stressing that the partnership would continue developing successfully from now on.

The Deputy Secretary General offered congratulations on the peace and normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The importance of the links between the Milli Majlis and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly was emphasised, and forthcoming co-operation prospects were reviewed in the course of the conversation.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis