Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova and Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sergeenko followed their bilateral meeting up with a press statement.

Saying that, alongside his current official visit to Azerbaijan, Igor Sergeenko is also representing the Republic of Belarus at the 13^th session of the World Urban Forum and has taken part in its opening ceremony yesterday, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova remarked that this was truly a moment demonstrating vividly the essence of the Azerbaijani-Belarusian relationship. She quoted the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as having said that this relationship had stood the test of time and nobody doubts that Belarus and Azerbaijan are dependable friends.

Having mentioned the two countries’ relationships’ progress across all the vectors and already having the nature of strategic partnership today with the reliance upon sincere friendship, constructive dialogue as well as mutual trust and support, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis high-lit the role of the friendly ties between the two Heads of State, of the summit-level reciprocal visits and meetings in the advancement of the bonds. The official and working visits of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Belarus and of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to Azerbaijan were mentioned. As for the state visit of Alexander Lukashenko to Azerbaijan in May 2024, the negotiations held and the documents signed, they have already given the progress of the relations a new impetus. The President of Belarus also travelled to our de-occupied lands, to Shusha and Fuzuli, and acquired the first-hand knowledge of the restoration work under way during that same visit. Besides, Alexander Lukashenko took part in the COP29 held in Baku in November 2024.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova remarked with satisfaction that our inter-parliamentary ties, too, match the current level of relations between our countries. She said as she recalled her own official visit to Belarus in 2024 including the meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko as well as the official visit to Azerbaijan of Speaker of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova in February last year, that all those visits paid at the level of our Heads of Parliament as well as the meetings constitute one of the indicators of the existing level of our relationship. The friendship groups active in our Parliaments are regularly in touch today. Our MPs are represented at the events arranged in Azerbaijan and Belarus, respectively.

Amongst other things, as was said, our legislative bodies co-operate in such international organisations as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the CIS Parliamentary Assembly and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly. Specifically, it was during the Milli Majlis chairmanship of the APA that the Parliament of Belarus was granted an observer status in that entity.

Furthermore, the importance of the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, established on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, was emphasised as one of the most significant platforms.

In conclusion, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova reiterated that the ties between the Parliaments of Azerbaijan and Belarus are setting very good standards.

Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sergeenko, too, voiced favourable thoughts about the visit to our country and about also the relationship between our Parliaments in his speech before the press. He mentioned his taking part in the 13^th Session of the World Urban Forum on the directive of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and mentioned the impressive scale of the event, which is organised to high standards. Everything is organised sufficiently orderly, in a structured manner and interestingly. Besides, the guest told of his country’s experience and successes in the field of city-planning and urbanisation.

As he touched upon the relations between our Parliaments as well, Igor Sergeenko voiced contentment with their high level. He said that one could safely say today that there are no closed subjects for us. We speak openly, we say the words of support and friendship, and we exchange experience. The guest observed that the friendship groups formed within our Parliaments play a dramatic role in the activation of the inter-parliamentary dialogue. Today’s meetings involve, amongst others, the MPs heading the friendship groups as well as members of the Council of the Republic of our country.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis