Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova took part in an event organised at the Institute of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on 30 July in the format of her official visit to that country. Staff members of Ethiopian state and government bodies, representatives of the diplomatic corps, scientists and international relations experts, academic community members and students attended the event.

First, there was a meeting of Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova with Deputy Director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Mohammedrafi Abaraya.

That was followed by the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ADA University and the Institute of Foreign Affairs, with the participation of the delegations.

Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova delivered a speech at the event, themed ‘Azerbaijan and Ethiopia: development of inter-parliamentary dialogue, co-operation and multilateralism’. In her address, the Speaker touched upon the successful advancement of the relations between Azerbaijan and Ethiopia both bilaterally and within international organisations. She emphasised that the visits of President of Ethiopia Taye Atske Selassie and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali to Azerbaijan, their meetings with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the visit of Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva to Ethiopia contributed remarkably to the strengthening of our countries’ friendship, mutual respect and shared trust. The Speaker said also that inter-parliamentary relations were an important means in the context of those connections’ development.

In her speech, Sahiba Gafarova told about Azerbaijan’s innovative public administration experience and praised highly the successful implementation of the ASAN Service model in Ethiopia via the MESOB Service Centre as an example of mutually beneficial co-operation. She stressed that the partnership resting on confidence and exchange of knowledge and experience constituted the foundation for joint development and sustainable progress.

The Speaker observed that the humanitarian co-operation between Azerbaijan and Ethiopia is one of the salient areas of the bilateral relations. The ADA University, which ranks amongst the leading tertiary education institutions of Azerbaijan, is contributing importantly to the progress of international academic links under the leadership of its Rector Hafiz Pashayev. It was pointed out that the Memorandum of Understanding inked between the ADA University and the Institute of Foreign Relations of Ethiopia will serve the cause of broadening academic and educational co-operation as well as continuing strengthening of the friendly relations between our countries.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis told the event participants about the foreign political priorities of our country. It was emphasised that Azerbaijan always pays special attention to strengthening dialogue, solidarity and multilateralism in international relations. Being a representative of the Global South, Azerbaijan invariably focuses specially on furthering the interests of the Global South countries, in particular, countries of Africa in the course of her activities upon various international platforms. The successful Azerbaijani chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement as well as the proposed institutional development initiatives for the Movement, protection of Member States’ interests, especially, during the COVID-19 pandemic period, and supporting their development agendas are substantial manifestations of this policy.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarov said that Azerbaijan also attaches special importance to expanding mutually advantageous co-operation with African countries.

The Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament stated her views regarding international relations. It was said that the international system negotiates one of its deepest transformations since the time of inception of the United Nations Organisation now. The world is increasingly integrated but, at the same time, also more fragmented politically. Conflicts multiply, humanitarian crises grow in complexity whereas trust in multilateral institutions is subjected to unprecedented pressure, remarked the Speaker of the Milli Majlis. According to her, strengthening confidence amongst states, promotion of dialogue based on mutual respect and reinforcement of multilateral co-operation acquire under such circumstances the kind of significance they have never enjoyed before.

She brought specific examples to highlight the importance of strengthening multilateralism, increasing the operating efficiency of international institutions and co-operation platforms, and a number of issues, too, for overcoming the currently present challenges and problems.

As she was talking about the role of parliamentary diplomacy within the system of international relations, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis said that inter-parliamentary dialogue is immensely important for solidifying trust amongst states as it is for fostering mutual understanding and developing joint responses to common challenges. Even the most profound development strategies risk staying on paper without powerful parliaments that command public trust. In this regard, expansion of the exchange of experience and co-operation amongst parliaments is essential for stronger multilateralism and achievement of the shared development goals.

The event participants were told that the strengthening of parliamentary diplomacy, promotion of mutual understanding and furtherance of multilateral co-operation are amongst the key factors serving the mission of building a more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable future.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova broached many other topics concerning the modern global agenda as well as the tasks faced by parliaments in her speech apart from a detailed coverage of the aforementioned issues. She commented on them, too.

The event was continued as a Q&A session with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis answering the audience’s questions.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis