BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. The Third Trilateral Meeting of Parliamentary Speakers from Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and Türkiye was held in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on October 13, with an initial Executive Session, Trend reports.
The ceremony began with remarks from the Speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, who welcomed the Azerbaijani and Turkish parliamentary leaders and highlighted the platform’s importance in deepening relations between the three nations and their peoples. He expressed gratitude for Azerbaijan and Türkiye’s support on the Kashmir issue and stressed the need to end injustice in international relations to ensure peace, security, and prosperity.
Azerbaijan’s National Assembly Speaker, Sahiba Gafarova, thanked Pakistan for its hospitality and emphasized that the trilateral parliamentary cooperation is rooted in shared historical, cultural, religious, and moral values.
She reaffirmed that Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and Türkiye have always supported one another, noting that Azerbaijan will never forget the political and moral support provided by Pakistan and Türkiye during the first days of the 44-day Patriotic War. She also highlighted Azerbaijan’s consistent backing of Pakistan on regional issues, including the Kashmir dispute, advocating for dialogue and solutions based on international law and UN Security Council resolutions, and reiterated Azerbaijan’s stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict in support of a two-state solution.
Gafarova recalled that four years have passed since the first trilateral meeting, which was held in Baku in 2021 and marked the creation of this trilateral parliamentary cooperation mechanism. The first meeting was also notable for a visit to the liberated city of Shusha. She highlighted the second meeting in Istanbul in 2022, hosted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, which adopted the Istanbul Declaration. The current meeting in Islamabad confirms the platform as a successful and sustainable mechanism for parliamentary cooperation, contributing to the expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations.
According to the Speaker, the continuous engagement of our legislative bodies within international parliamentary organizations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Union of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, as well as our joint activities on issues of mutual interest and mutual support, is highly commendable. She highlighted that one of the key platforms is the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, established at the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and currently chaired by the Azerbaijani Parliament. Gafarova expressed gratitude to the National Assembly and Senate of Pakistan as members of the Network, and to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye as a special guest, for their active support of the organization’s work.
The Speaker noted that the strong unity and solidarity demonstrated by our countries at the international level today is not only a reflection of our brotherhood and shared interests, but also a demonstration of an approach grounded in the absoluteness of international law and the principles of truth and justice. She emphasized that this approach is essentially a call to the international community to strengthen collaborative efforts based on mutual respect for the sake of a brighter future built on peace, security, and progress.
In her speech, Gafarova emphasized that peace, security, and development are closely interconnected. She underscored that, as Azerbaijan marks the 5th anniversary of the 44-day Patriotic War, the country continues to demonstrate this principle through its ongoing efforts.
She recalled that approximately 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territories were under Armenian occupation for thirty years. During this period, hundreds of cities and villages, along with historical, religious, and cultural monuments, were destroyed, and one million Azerbaijanis were displaced from their homeland. She criticized the mediators, the OSCE Minsk Group, for failing to ensure the enforcement of international law norms and principles.
Highlighting Azerbaijan’s achievements, Gafarova stated that the country restored its territorial integrity in 2020 and its sovereignty in 2023, thereby laying the foundation for a path to peace. She added that immediately following the war, it was victorious Azerbaijan that initiated the peace process, proposing the main principles of peace and the draft peace treaty.
She recalled that, following bilateral negotiations, in August 2025 in Washington, with the participation of the leaders of the United States, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia initialed the peace treaty text. The President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia signed a Joint Statement under the watch of US President Donald Trump. The importance of opening regional communications was confirmed during this process.
Gafarova stated that one of the main outcomes of the Washington meeting was the opening of the Zangezur corridor, initiated by President Ilham Aliyev. With the implementation of the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity,” the Zangezur corridor is set to become a crucial transport link in Eurasia, promoting regional cooperation and progress. She emphasized that these achievements are primarily the result of President Ilham Aliyev’s proactive peace diplomacy and his intensive efforts for security, cooperation, and development.
She noted that, in light of these developments, new opportunities are emerging for expanding cooperation among our brotherly countries. Over the past period, the Azerbaijan-Pakistan-Türkiye trilateral cooperation mechanism has consistently developed at the parliamentary, foreign affairs, and defense ministry levels.
Gafarova further stated that the trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Türkiye and the Prime Minister of Pakistan in Astana in July 2024, and especially the Trilateral Summit in the liberated city of Lachin in Azerbaijan in May 2025, enriched this mechanism and elevated it to a qualitatively new stage. These meetings expressed the determination to strengthen unity and solidarity between the brotherly countries and to expand trilateral cooperation across political, economic, trade, transport, energy, defense, humanitarian, and other sectors. She added that the current Trilateral Meeting at the level of parliamentary speakers reflects the commitment to reinforce parliamentary support for the cooperation among the three nations, expressing her confidence that parliamentarians will achieve this goal through joint efforts.
Speaking next, the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, Numan Kurtulmuş, welcomed the participants and shared his perspectives on the importance of the meeting. He stressed the significance of trilateral cooperation in the context of ongoing issues in international law, particularly double standards. Kurtulmuş emphasized Türkiye’s commitment to strengthening trilateral collaboration with the parliaments of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan, noting the critical role parliaments play in formulating joint solutions to global challenges.
Addressing the fight against terrorism, Kurtulmuş underlined Türkiye’s strong stance against terrorist threats targeting the sovereignty and independence of states. He also congratulated Azerbaijan on the progress achieved regarding the peace agenda with Armenia.
Finally, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Chairman of the Senate of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, highlighted the importance of the third parliamentary meeting. He emphasized the critical role of cooperation among brotherly countries in the current geopolitical context and underlined the importance of strengthening inter-parliamentary relations.
