The 1^st Summit of the Speakers of Parliament of Member and Partner States of Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean was held on 7 May. Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova took part in the Summit.

In her address at the Summit, Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova observed that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean has proved within the 20 years past its importance as a platform upon which to develop inter-parliamentary co-operation whilst promoting dialogue, mutual understanding and shared responsibility in the name of peace and stability in a region of strategic significance.

Although Azerbaijan is not a part of the Mediterranean Region geographically, the country has still maintained long-term connections and constructive relations with the Mediterranean as well as Gulf countries, said the Speaker of the Milli Majlis before mentioning Azerbaijan’s input in regional and international energy security via diversification of energy routes and supplies. Our country’s active role in the development of transport links between the East and the West, especially, within the Middle Corridor, was pointed up next. Those efforts contribute to the strengthening of co-operation and propagation of shared economic sustainability.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova mentioned the every-increasing importance of the role that parliaments play in international relations, adding that parliamentary diplomacy complements traditional diplomatic channels in promoting dialogue, enhancing transparency and bolstering trust amongst states. The Speaker of the Milli Majlis underlined the need for parliamentary diplomacy to be dependable and inclusive, and based on international law, democratic principles and mutual comprehension. She said that parliamentary diplomacy ought to provide a platform for such constructive co-operation at times of differences of opinion. The Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan is behind this approach and attaches special importance to co-operation upon multilateral parliamentary platforms. Having lauded the Assembly’s having granted the observer status to the Parliaments of Azerbaijan and Armenia alike, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova remarked that, as President Ilham Aliyev had said, these countries are learning to live in peace after the conflict that had lasted for decades. That step could bring about a progress of dialogue and confidence between the two countries in keeping with the continuing efforts to build peace and ensure normalisation. Saying that our Parliaments, too, are involved in trust-building between the two peoples, Sahiba Gafarova said that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean could become a yet more formidable platform of constructive co-operation.

Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova brought up Azerbaijan’s active engagement in international parliamentary activities and said that our country regarded inter-parliamentary co-operation as a formidable means to solve common problems. The Speaker reminded the assembly that the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, established at the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev and chaired by the Milli Majlis currently, too, is a token of our country’s commitment to the cause of making parliamentary co-operation stronger globally. She mentioned the relevant significance of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean. It was further said that that essential move spells our shared devotion to strengthening parliamentary diplomacy as a considerable pillar of international co-operation and that those frameworks will bring about more institutional interaction and closer inter-parliamentary connections.

Concluding her address, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova reiterated that parliamentary diplomacy required sustained responsibility and co-ordinated endeavours to be efficient. As for the co-operation amongst our Parliaments growing stronger, this will serve peace, stability and sustained development.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis