Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting on 23 May with the inbound delegation led by Chairman of the Estonian Parliament (Riigikogu) Jüri Ratas 23 May.

Mrs Gafarova greeted the guests and then told her Estonian colleague and his delegation that she was glad of the opportunity to welcome them in our country, adding that Azerbaijan and Estonia were friendly and partnerly states. The bilateral diplomatic relations are turning thirty years in 2022; our interaction has graduated to the level of partnership throughout those years, according to the leader of the Azerbaijani parliament.

Mutual high-status visits are bearing well on the bilateral and multilateral relations, Sahiba Gafarova continued before referring to the documents signed to date to encompass our political, economic, trading, humanitarian and otherwise co-operation. It is possible to conclude more documents of this nature, Mrs Gafarova added.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis recalled her official visit to Estonia in February this year and voiced her satisfaction with its outcomes. Then, she talked about the new Azerbaijan-EU partnership treaty being close to signing, the role of our country in maintaining the European energy security and the laudable activities of Estonia as a member of the EU. It was said then that, in addition to crude oil supplies, Azerbaijan has also become a dependable vendor of natural gas to Europe, which, too, was a weighty contribution to the already-mentioned energy security of the Continent.

The inter-parliamentary connexions have a special place in the progressing bilateral links; a propos, there are fine opportunities to deepen those connexions further. The mutual visits of the speakers and members of the legislatures and the work done by the parliamentary friendship groups are major drivers behind the progress of the Azerbaijani-Estonian collaboration in this particular area. Besides, according to Sahiba Gafarova, there are excellent options to continue strengthening the interaction between our parliaments under the auspices of international organisations.

Azerbaijan’s victory in the 44-day Patriotic War was mentioned, too. It was said that through that victory Azerbaijan had achieved the enforcement of a number of international resolutions – including those passed by the UN Security Council. Sahiba Gafarova also recalled the latest meeting of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Armenia’s PM Nikol Pashinyan organised in Brussels at the suggestion of President of the EU Council Charles Michel. Sahiba Gafarova said she trusted that a peace treaty would be signed between the two states soon enough.

Chairman of Riigikogu Jüri Ratas thanked for the hospitality extended to the Estonian parliamentary delegation and went on to say that Estonia and Azerbaijan were promoting their relations in the spirit of their friendship and that those relations were at a fine level already. Estonia recognises and supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Mr Ratas pointed out; he then mentioned the scheduled visit to Shusha and said that the Estonian delegation would doubtless enjoy it.

The business people in the Estonian delegation intend to have a string of meetings and to make efforts to promote bilateral links in various areas, according to Mr Ratas.

He referred to Chair Gafarova’s visit to Estonia, too, and said that he hoped the meetings and discussions that lay ahead during his current trip to Azerbaijan were going to serve to push forth the bilateral relations in general and the inter-parliamentary connexions in particular.  

Estonia is interested in furthering the interaction with Azerbaijan in education, environmental matters, agriculture and other areas, Mr Ratas said whilst also praising the connexions between Azerbaijan and the European Union.

Other subjects of shared interest were broached during the conversation, too.

The leader of the Azerbaijan-Estonia inter-parliamentary connexions working group Jala Ahmadova, the WG members Musa Gasimli, Rashad Mahmudov and Azer Karimli, Chief of the Milli Majlis Staff Farid Hajiyev, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Estonia Anar Maharramov and other officials were also present at that meeting.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis