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Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met on 4 May with Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Martin Chungong who is visiting in our country.
Expressing contentment with the opportunity to see the guest in Azerbaijan once more, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova remarked that the IPU co-operates with the Milli Majlis successfully and that, in particular, Members of the Azerbaijani Parliament have been more active in the IPU since 2021 and hold leading positions in this Organisation. The Speaker spoke fondly of the co-operation of the Milli Majlis with the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement and of Secretary General Martin Chungong’s support for this co-operation. The Speaker thanked the IPU Secretary General also in relation to the furtherance of the co-operation and for his endeavours in organising the meetings of the Speakers of Parliament of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Having said that those meetings were the Parliaments’ input to the process of building trust between the peoples, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova expressed her belief that a peace treaty would be signed between the two countries promptly upon the finalisation of certain amendments to the Armenian Constitution as well as that that, in turn, will generate broader parliamentary co-operation opportunities.
Saying that the IPU was an extremely important platform where people listen to each other and build dialogues, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis emphasised the immense importance of the support and care that President Ilham Aliyev extends to developing the ties with the IPU.
Having thanked for the kind words, IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong remarked upon the transformation of the IPU-Azerbaijan connections during his leadership of the Organisation. He said that, led by President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has always remained committed to furthering the relations with the IPU. He mentioned Azerbaijan’s drawing attention to herself through her activities in this Organisation. The Secretary General high-lit Azerbaijan’s active involvement in IPU events, the fact that Milli Majlis representatives were in governing positions and the fruitful co-operation between the parties. He remarked that the Speaker of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan helming the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement played a great role in the Network’s growth as well as in the progress of its relations with the IPU.
It was said that maintaining a dialogue of the Parliaments of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the format of the peace process between the two countries serves peace – the principal goal of the IPU. The guest expressed his appreciation of President Ilham Aliyev’s substantial support for the co-operation with the IPU and said that this visit of his was a sign of the Organisation’s confidence and faith in Azerbaijan.
The Secretary General praised highly during the conversation the achievements made at the Parliamentary Conference that had been held on the COP29 margins. He said that the word had today witnessed the increasing mobilisation force of parliaments thanks to those successes.
The meeting culminated in the IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong being decorated with the Milli Majlis Medal of Honour in appreciation of his services in the developing a constructive dialogue and effective co-operation amongst Parliaments and for the contribution to the strengthening and expanding of the bilateral and multilateral relations between the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
