Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting with the UN Resident Co-ordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva on 17 February.

Madame Speaker told the guest that it was a pleasure to welcome her within the parliamentary walls, adding that she trusted Mrs Andreeva’s work as the UN resident co-ordinator in Azerbaijan would serve the cause of strengthening the co-operation between this organisation and our country. Mrs Gafarova wished Mrs Andreeva every success on this path.

Azerbaijan finds it important to further its relations with influential international organisations; incidentally, our membership in the UN will turn thirty years in 2022, Sahiba Gafarova continued. Azerbaijan has always been a very active member of the UN and has arranged fruitful co-operation with its departments and agencies whose work encompass diverse areas. Azerbaijan’s election as a non-resident member of the UN Security Council for the years 2012-2013 with 155 member states’ voted having been cast ‘pro’ demonstrated what the international reputation of our country was like, in the opinion of Mrs Gafarova.

Besides, Azerbaijan is supportive of the UN initiatives also as the incumbent chair of the Non-Aligned Movement and is contributing to the work done on resolving the matters of concern to the global community. It was upon the instance of the president of the Azerbaijan Republic Mr Ilham Aliyev, proposed as Chair of the NAM, that the 31^st special session of the UN General Assembly consisting of heads of state and government was convened in December 2020 to consider the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic counteraction. That was a tremendous event, continued the speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament.

It is of especial significance that, again, as Chair of the NAM, Mr Ilham Aliyev had proposed an initiative following which the resolution ‘On Providing the Equal, Timely, Affordable and Universal Access to the COVID-19 Vaccines’ was passed – at the 46h session of the UN Council for Human Rights on 23 March 2021 and at the 76^th session of the UN General Assembly on 16 December 2021. As many as 179 UN member-states had voted in favour of that resolution, Sahiba Gafarova recalled.

Going further, the Chair of the Milli Majlis updated Mrs Andreeva on the 44 days’ Patriotic War of Azerbaijan and the riddance of the Azerbaijani lands from the invaders following thirty years of the Armenian occupation. That happened thanks to the courage of our victorious Army led by Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan enforced independently the well-known resolutions of the UN Security Council by having prevailed in that war. The trilateral statement inked in November 2020 drew the final line under that conflict whereas we can see a completely new picture in the South Caucasus now. The conflict is in the past; Azerbaijan is busy restoring its provinces freed from the occupiers. Mrs Gafarova pointed out that the thirty-year-long Armenian captivity had resulted in the total razing of our towns and villages as well as the material heritage and cult centres. Alas, the UNESCO had never undertaken an assessment of those lands throughout the period of their occupation despite the repeated appeals of Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova remarked.

The UN Resident Co-ordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva said her thanks for the sincere welcome given to her before expressing her satisfaction with the co-operation between our country and the organisation that she represents. Azerbaijan is an important partner that takes up global leadership in matters of acute import to the UN, according to Mrs Andreeva.

She went further to mention a soon UN trip to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan to embark upon an assessment mission there. She said also that she was under the immense impression of the restoration plans for those provinces of our country – especially, the ‘smart town’ and ‘smart village’ ventures.

As regards the Sustainable Development Goals, Mrs Andreeva said she thought they had a tremendous role in the restoration of the freed regions of Azerbaijan. Mrs Andreeva also offered her opinions about de-mining those areas, restoring their infrastructure and ensuring that the population went back there.

Then, Vladanka Andreeva emphasised her intention to spare no effort for the continued progress of the relations between the UN and Azerbaijan.

Other matters of interest and concern to both parties were brought up as the conversation unfolded, too.

The Press and Public Relations Department  
The Milli Majlis