Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with the ambassadors of African countries and of countries from other regions of the world in Addis Ababa on 30 July during her official visit to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Addressing the event, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis said that strengthening multilateralism in the modern era requires adapting her to the new global reality. According to her, parliaments ought to become one of the driving forces behind this process. It is specifically parliaments that are the key institutions transforming citizens’ expectations into state policies and strengthening transparency, inclusivity and public trust. Representative parliamentarism is considered to be one of the strongest pillars of sustainable development therefore. Expansion of the exchange of experience and of co-operation amongst parliaments matters dramatically for stronger multilateralism and the achievement of shared goals in this connection.

The Speaker proceeded to share her thoughts on Africa’s role in the changing world, the significance of parliamentary diplomacy, the activities of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) – the largest international parliamentary organisation in the world – and its future as well as Africa’s Agenda 2063.

As she was talking about the activities of the IPU, the Speaker remarked that that organisation, which is the oldest multilateral political platform bringing parliaments of the world together, plays an important role in promotion of dialogue, democracy and inter-parliamentary co-operation. The necessity of expanding the IPU’s co-operation with regional parliamentary organisations and the importance of integrating regional approaches with the global parliamentary agenda and of a more effective implementation of global obligations regionally were emphasised at the meeting.

There was an exchange of opinions at the meeting about such topics as the participation of Azerbaijan and African countries in international parliamentary organisations, Africa’s development and place in the world, Azerbaijan’s achievements with the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, the outcomes of COP29 held in Baku and about other matters.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis