BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 25. Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting with Chairman of the Council of Representatives of Bahrain Ahmad bin Salman Al-Musallam in the course of her official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain on 25 January, Trend reports, citing the press and public relations department of the Azerbaijani Parliament.
Saying that the Kingdom was keen on furthering the relations with Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Council of Representatives of Bahrain Ahmad bin Salman Al-Musallam indicated the interest in consistent and purposeful continuation of the existing co operation between our countries in the political and economic areas as well as within international organisations.
Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova expressed gratitude for the hospitality extended and mentioned the fact that it was for the second time that she was paying a visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, recalling with pleasure the visits to Azerbaijan of Speakers of Parliament of the Kingdom of Bahrain in the past periods and the meetings held. Speaker of the Milli Majlis remarked that the current visit was her first official one to the Kingdom of Bahrain as Speaker and that the visit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Bahrain. She said also that the opening of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Bahrain last year had moved our bilateral relations to a new stage.
It was said that during the visit the Speaker of the Milli Majlis would also participate in the 16th plenary session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly and that this platform contributes materially to the expansion of inter parliamentary co operation.
It was emphasised that political contacts, visits being undertaken and consultations being held play an important role in deepening the ties; the existence of good opportunities for further development of the co operation in the areas of economy, trade, investments, tourism and education was underscored. In particular, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis, who referred to the connections in the humanitarian fields, said that last year’s visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain by Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Head of the IDEA Public Association Leyla Aliyeva and Head of the Baku Media Centre Arzu Aliyeva, and the ‘MAMA – Mother Nature’ exhibition organised to high standards within the itinerary of that visit in Manama indicated the high level of existing relations in this direction.
Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova, whilst highlighting the successful collaboration between our countries in the formats of such international and regional organisations as the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Co operation and the Non Aligned Movement, expressed high appreciation of the support by the Kingdom of Bahrain for Azerbaijan’s just position on these platforms.
As she was underlining the significance of parliamentary diplomacy in the progress of inter state relations, Sahiba Gafarova voiced the laudatory assessment of the current active co operation between the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Bahrain. The successful co operation of the parliaments, both bilaterally and on international platforms such as the Inter Parliamentary Union, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States and the Non Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM PN), was mentioned as well. It was said that Azerbaijan had supported the chairmanship candidacy of the Parliament of Bahrain in the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, and contentment was expressed with that the chairmanship of the Assembly would be handed over to the Bahraini side. At the same time, satisfaction was expressed with the close co operation within the NAM PN.
There was at the meeting also an exchange of views upon other topics of interest to both parties.
