The Milli Majlis Committee for Defence, Security and Counter-Corruption held its first meeting of the autumn parliamentary session of this year in the video format on 16 September.

Committee Chairman Ziyafet Asgarov started the meeting with the tabling of the committee performance report covering the spring and extraordinary Milli Majlis sessions of 2021. He told the assembly that that period had seen 11 committee meetings called to look at 21 issues including the legislatively prescribed draft amendments to the laws ‘On the Military Duty and Service’, ‘On the Status of the Military Personnel’, ‘On Perpetuating the Shahid Title and on the Shahid Household Benefits’  and ‘On the State Border of the Azerbaijan Republic’, to the Garrison and Guard Service Charter of the Armed Forces of the Azerbaijan Republic, the Internal Service Charter of the Armed Forces of the Azerbaijan Republic, the Military Service Performance Regulations and other legislative acts. Furthermore, they considered ratification of the inter-governmental treaty between the Azerbaijan Republic and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan concerning co-operation in eliminating, curbing and mitigating emergency aftermaths. The Bills recommended for the tabling before the Milli Majlis had gone through the three readings by the Committee and had mostly been made laws in the end.

It is emphasised in the period performance report that constituents’ concerns were in the focus throughout the reference period. The total of 121 applications and complaints received by the Committee were handled properly; 55 of the letters were forwarded to relevant destinations for subsequent consideration on the merits and response action. The rest of the inbound correspondence was addressed in a general way.

According to Mr Asgarov, the Committee members, apart from that they were active in the social networks, came up with substantial mass media articles in support of our Army and on the matters fateful for our country and nation.

The presentation of the performance report was followed by that of the Defence, Security and Counter-Corruption Committee’s work plan for the 2021 autumn parliamentary session and of the Ratification Bill of the Azerbaijan Republic regarding the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of the Azerbaijan Republic and the Republic of Turkey ‘On the Training of the Special Operations Forces of the Army of Azerbaijan and the Armed Forces of Turkey’. Arguments were cited in token of the latter’s importance and relevance.

Deputy Chairman of the Committee Hikmat Mammadov and the MPs Elman Mammadov, Aydin Mirzazade and Arzu Naghiyev offered their respective opinions about the performance report and the current-session work plan alike. They praised the above-said Memorandum of Understanding. Several proposals regarding the work of the Committee were put forth, too.

It was recommended that the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of the Azerbaijan Republic and the Republic of Turkey ‘On the Training of the Special Operations Forces of the Army of Azerbaijan and the Armed Forces of Turkey’ should be tabled for deliberations at a plenary session of the Milli Majlis.

The MPs Bakhtiyar Sadigov, Amina Agazade, Elshad Mirbashir oglu, Erkin Gadirli, Nurlan Hasanov, Kamal Jafarov and Aghil Abbas as well as Head of the State-Building and Administrative and Defence Legislation of the Milli Majlis Staff Haji Mirhashim Seyid and other officials were taking part in the meeting, too.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis