Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met on 15 July with President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini who is in our country on an official visit.

First, the honorary guest acquainted himself with the plenary chamber of the Milli Majlis.

The guests then visited the Heydar Aliyev Museum at the Milli Majlis.

President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini signed the Memorial Book.

Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova addressed the friendly ties and mutually beneficial co-operation linking our countries at the meeting. She observed that the relations between Azerbaijan and Slovakia have been advancing dynamically over the past years and have achieved the level of strategic partnership. The Joint Declaration on Establishing Strategic Partnership that was signed in 2024 laid a solid foundation for successful development of co-operation along many vectors. The Speaker stressed that the active political dialogue as well as reciprocal visits at the supreme and high levels factor importantly in this project. The first official visit of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Slovakia in December 2025 and the current official visit of President Peter Pellegrini to our country started a new stage in the progress of the Azerbaijani-Slovak relations.

Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova recalled fondly the meetings with President Peter Pellegrini in previous years. She remarked that Peter Pellegrini’s official visit to our country as President of the Slovak Republic – he had visited Azerbaijan as Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia and then as Slovak Prime Minister – and his negotiations with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Shusha are especially significant for the development of the bilateral relations. The Speaker expressed a confidence that this visit will contribute importantly to the continuing strengthening of the Azerbaijani-Slovak ties and expansion of the co-operation alike.

The significance of the humanitarian co-operation and, especially, in education and cultural affairs, those which play a massive role in strengthening mutual understanding and friendly ties of our peoples, was emphasised in the conversation. It was said that the launch of direct flights between Baku and Bratislava in October this year will bring a dramatic contribution to the progress of the peoples’ contacts and to generation of new co-operation opportunities.

It was noted during the conversation that interparliamentary co-operation is one of the important areas of Azerbaijani-Slovak relations. Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova pointed up the important contribution of mutual visits and regular contacts between the legislative bodies to the development of bilateral ties. Recalling with contentment her official visit to Slovakia five years ago, the Speaker lauded highly the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Parliaments during the official visit of the Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia Richard Raši to Azerbaijan in May this year. She said the document serves to elevate interparliamentary relations to a qualitatively new level.

Also, the importance of the ties between the parliamentary friendship groups was underlined at the meeting. It was said it is necessary to broaden the co-operation amongst the specialist parliamentary committees as well as to continue developing interaction in international parliamentary organisations.

As she was talking about the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova praised highly Slovakia’s contribution to the restoration process in Garabagh. She said that the ‘smart village’ project that a Slovak company is implementing in the Bash Garvand village in Aghdam Province is a vivid example of successful practical co-operation between our countries. The secondary school in the town of Aghdam the ground-breaking for which was graced by the two countries’ President will become another symbol of the friendship between Azerbaijan and Slovakia.

President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini expressed contentment with his official visit to Azerbaijan and with being at the Milli Majlis. The honorary guest remarked that, following his visit to Azerbaijan as Prime Minister of Slovakia in 2018 the Government he had headed had decided to open the country’s embassy in Azerbaijan. That move was a sign of the significance attached to furthering the relations between Slovakia and Azerbaijan. President Peter Pellegrini stressed the current high level of friendly ties and political dialogue of our countries. He also indicated his country’s interest in a continued expansion of the co-operation with Azerbaijan in various fields. It was said that the visits of three top Slovak state officials to Azerbaijan over the two years past confirmed that vividly.

President Peter Pellegrini underscored the special symbolic importance of that his official visit, paid on the invitation of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, began in the town of Shusha. It is a source of special pride to him to be the first Head of State to pay an official visit to Shusha as President of a European Union member nation. He expressed confidence that the meeting and discussions in Shusha as well as the arrangements achieved will contribute importantly to the eventual progress of the relations between our countries.

The honorary guest shared favourable impressions of the large-scale restoration and reconstruction work being carried out in Garabagh and lauded the contribution of Slovak companies to this process and the projects they are implementing as a bright example of successful co-operation between our countries. President Peter Pellegrini described the naming of the secondary school under construction in Aghdam after an outstanding Slovak personality as an event that evokes a sense of pride. This is yet another manifestation of friendship and mutual respect between Slovakia and Azerbaijan, he remarked.

As the conversation continued, the honorary guest recalled fondly the meetings he had held with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis at various times, touched upon the importance of interparliamentary co-operation and pointed to the significance of further developing ties between the relevant parliamentary committees. In conclusion, he invited the Speaker of the Milli Majlis to pay another official visit to Slovakia. 

The meeting also saw an exchange of opinions about other matters of shared interest.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis