Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting on 25 May with the visiting delegation led by Philip Lawrence who is heading the Azerbaijan friendship group in the House of Commons of the Canadian Parliament.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova told the Canadians that she was glad of the opportunity to welcome them at the Milli Majlis. She then spoke appreciatively of the work done by the Canadian Parliament’s group and, at the same time, commended it on its co-operation with the Azerbaijani Diaspora of that country. As regards their arrival in Baku, it indicates clearly enough that the efforts to promote the progress of the Canadian-Azerbaijani inter-parliamentary connexions are bringing fruit. In general, inter-parliamentary friendship groups are essential in inter-parliamentary relations, which, in turn, constitute the most important part of countries’ bilateral and multilateral interactions.

Our diplomatic relations will turn thirty years in a few months, according to the Chair of the Milli Majlis who said then that there was a huge potential to tap to broaden the bilateral relations more.

Sahiba Gafarova briefed the guests on Azerbaijan’s having liberated its lands, in the 44-day Patriotic War, of the thirty-year-long occupation during which Armenia had been laying those lands to waste – the traces of the destruction the Canadian guests could see for themselves as they had taken a trip to the town of Agdam. That conflict is history now, though; we want to talk about peace and stability, Mrs Gafarova continued.

The meetings of the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the prime minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, held at the suggestion of the president of the EU Council Charles Michel, were mentioned during the conversation as well. Mrs Gafarova said she trusted that conversations between the two states were bound to result in them inking a peace treaty eventually.

That Armenia had been mining our liberated lands is their biggest problem today, what with more than 210 civilians and servicemen either mauled or killed in mine blasts since 10 November 2020. Also, whilst one of the most-mined countries in the world, Azerbaijan also ranks equal to those countries that are in receipt of the least international de-mining assistance, as the leader of the Milli Majlis pointed out wistfully.

The head of the Azerbaijan friendship group in the Canadian Commons Philip Lawrence thanked for the Azerbaijani side’s hospitality before touching on the growth prospects of the bilateral relations in diverse areas. Continuing the progress of the inter-parliamentary connexions will doubtless do both sides much good, in the opinion of MP Lawrence who mentioned the close acquaintance with the de-mining under way made during the visit to Agdam. He said that he believed that a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan was coming soon and that lasting peace and stability would settle across the region equally shortly.

Then, the conversations revolved round other matters of mutual interest.

The leader of the Azerbaijan-Canada inter-parliamentary connexions working group Tural Ganjaliyev and other officials took part in the meeting, too.

The Press and Public Relations Department