Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova Addresses 46th AIPA General Assembly in Malaysia
Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova who is in the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia has taken part in the opening ceremony of the 46th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) of the Association of South East Asian Nations on 18 September.
The speakers at the ceremony that was attended by Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim as well as Heads and delegates of the Parliaments of the Member States and Observer-Status States voiced their ideas about the place and role of AIPA in international parliamentary diplomacy, the importance of co-operation within this organisation and the role of parliamentarians in addressing pressing global issues.
Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova remarked in her speech at the plenary sitting of the General Assembly that, with parliamentary diplomacy gaining in significance, AIPA has become a considerable and successful platform bringing parliaments together and generating ideas and opportunities for yet closer co-operation. She added that the Organisation contributed substantially to the dialogue and mutual understanding not only between the Member Parliaments but also parliaments of various regions of the world.
Having mentioned the involvement of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the work of AIPA with observer status since 2022, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova noted that that communicated Azerbaijan’s intention to develop further the multifaceted ties with the States of South East Asia, with inter-parliamentary co-operation being regarded as an important direction of these relations. As she said, the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan is actively developing relations with the member parliaments of the organisation, while simultaneously strengthening multilateral ties with AIPA.
Speaker Sahiba Gafarova made it known to the participants of the event that the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, established upon the instance of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and currently chaired by the Milli Majlis, signed a Memorandum of Co-operation with AIPA in March 2023. That indicates the intention to develop our institutional co-operation and contribute to the achievement of common goals.
Remarking that the principal topic of the General Assembly – inclusive development and resilience – is a crucial issue on the agenda of parliamentary discussions, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis described parliaments as one of the key stakeholders in this process in view of their legislative, budgetary and oversight functions. As she added, inclusive development and sustainability are also a strategic vision adopted by Azerbaijan. The implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is regarded as a vital element of this vision, with the national development plans and strategies having been aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals successfully.
Referring in her speech to the tremendous building and restoration work that Azerbaijan is doing in her de-occupied regions of Garabagh and East Zangazur then, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova said that the territories’ revival constitutes a considerable component of the approach that the Government of Azerbaijan takes to inclusive development and sustainability. The Speaker recalled that those territories had been occupied for 30 years and had been liberated in 2020. The large-scale restoration work carried out in those entirely destroyed territories has already enabled our Government to resettle more than 50,000 people to those regions and reintegrate them into the socio-economic life of the country.
