Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova, on a working visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan currently, met with Chair of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko on 29 March.

During the meeting, the speakers exchanged views upon the current condition and prospects of the inter-parliamentary interaction as one of the staple components of the Azerbaijani-Russian relationship. They cited the immense significance of that particular co-operative field embracing the matters of concern to both sides. The parliament leaders commended the friendship groups of the Milli Majlis and the Federal Assembly on their operations and lauded the work done by the permanent bilateral inter-parliamentary commission.

The conversation also moved on to the humanitarian connexions, which Mrs Gafarova and Mrs Matviyenko brought up in view of the bridging part their legislatures play between our nations. The current state of affairs in humanitarian co-operation was mentioned with satisfaction; the importance of the projects undertaken was highlit, too. The Azerbaijani Culture Days arranged in Russia and the organisation of the 1^st Forum of Youth Initiatives of Russia and Azerbaijan were useful when it came to strengthening the human contacts, in the shared opinion of Mrs Gafarova and Mrs Matviyenko.

They also cast a glance over the economic and trading relations, mentioning the volume of two-way trade having gone 16% up to the sizable USD 2 bn 995 mn at the end of last year. Furthermore, the parliament speakers talked about the importance of collaboration in investments, transport, tourism, agriculture and other areas, not barring the co-operation between both countries’ provinces. It was said that arrangement of relevant forums occupied a special place in the bilateral connexions in view of the practical projects that are undertaken and carried into life subsequently.

Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova told of the new situation established in our region consequent to our country’s victory in the Patriotic War and of the large-scale restoration work Azerbaijan is doing in its de-occupied territories. Mrs Gafarova underscored Azerbaijan’s staying true to the trilateral statement of 10 November 2020. However, she added, the requirement of the statement’s Item IV of the complete withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory of the remains of the troops of Armenia as well as of the Armenian illegal armed formations had not been carried out to date. The speaker of the Milli Majlis repeated then that unfailing abidance by all the principles stipulated in the aforementioned statement was mandatory for establishment of a sustainable peace and security in the region.

Besides, Sahiba Gafarova communicated to Chair of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko the protect about the biased statements concerning Azerbaijan made by the member of Russia’s State Duma Mikhail Delyaghin.

Valentina Matviyenko replied that the matter was going to be looked into and appropriate steps would be taken eventually.

The dialogue of the two speakers also revolved around other matters of interest to both parties.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis