Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova had a meeting on 24 January with the visiting delegation led by First Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov.

The Chair of the Milli Majlis who welcomed the delegation of Uzbekistan cordially expressed her satisfaction with the high standards of the friendly and brotherly ties between our peoples. She also pointed up the peoples’ similarity in linguistic, religious, historical and moral terms. That such a large and representative delegation would arrive in our country is another indication of the high level of our relations, Mrs Gafarova added.

The dynamic advancement of the political, economic, cultural and humanitarian co-operation between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan was mentioned at the meeting as well. It was said that Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan were independent, developing and self-sufficient states. The high degree of relations between the two Heads of State was referred to as well, with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis describing them as the outstanding statesmen who share the same views and serve the cause of their nations’ continued development and progress. Also, Sahiba Gafarova underscored the special importance of the two Presidents’ reciprocal visits.

Next, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis spoke about the work done to deepen our inter-parliamentary co-operation and praised the elevated ties between our legislative bodies as well as the activities of the friendship groups in the legislatures of both countries. She mentioned with satisfaction her visits to Uzbekistan and meetings with both Chair of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva and Chairman of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis Nurdinjon Ismoilov. Such mutual visits and the positive dialogue contribute to the further expansion of our relations, said Mrs Gafarova. She remarked that our MPs co-operated within the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, the TurkPA, the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and other international organisations.

Going further, Sahiba Gafarova also talked about the almost 30-year-long Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands, those lands’ de-occupation in the 44 days’ Patriotic War waged under the command of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and our country’s having restored her sovereignty in entirety. It was mentioned that Uzbekistan had always supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and that after the victory in the 44-day Patriotic War we witnessed the Uzbek society rejoicing at that triumph. The school that Uzbekistan had had built in the de-occupied Fuzuli Province is a token of affinity of our peoples and states.

The Speaker of the Milli Majlis mentioned with regret the manifestation of an unfair position towards several countries due to the double standards currently existing in the world. Azerbaijan deplores the prejudiced attitude of certain European countries and international organisations, manifest since the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from the 30-year occupation, Sahiba Gafarova continued. She then emphasised the importance of a joint struggle of the friendly and brotherly nations against such circumstances and double standards.

The conversation also saw an exchange of views on the forthcoming extraordinary presidential elections to be held in Azerbaijan on 7 February. The Speaker of the Milli Majlis said that these elections were very important in the history of Azerbaijani statehood since it would be for the first time in the modern Azerbaijani statehood period that elections would be held in the entire territory of the country, including in all towns and villages freed from occupation. Therefore, the extraordinary presidential elections will be written in the history of Azerbaijan as the elections of victory, and the will of the Azerbaijani people, the Azerbaijani voter will be expressed in their results. Sahiba Gafarova pointed out that the Azerbaijani people support their president and that President Ilham Aliyev will continue his work for the further development and well-being of the people and the state.

First Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan Akmal Saidov thanked for the generous hospitality before turning to the on-going advancement of the two friendly countries’ relations. He broached the similar histories of our countries and nations before speaking about the unprecedented services of the National Leader of our people Heydar Aliyev in the preservation and evolution of Azerbaijan’s national independence. Akmal Saidov also said that whereas Heydar Aliyev had preserved the independence of Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev had restored Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. This means that, if anything, the work initiated by Heydar Aliyev is continued successfully by President Ilham Aliyev.

It is as important to take further the links between our parliaments, all in keeping with the vector drawn by our Heads of State, Mr Saidov continued.

Akmal Saidov stressed the necessity of the experience exchange as he was talking about the application of Azerbaijan’s relevant experience gained in 2018 in the course of last year’s constitutional reforms in Uzbekistan.  

Then, Akmal Saidov presented the Speaker of the Milli Majlis the history and culture books that are the fruit of the joint labour of Uzbek and Azerbaijani scientists. One of the books, ‘The Socially Accepted Successes and Achievements of Azerbaijan during the Presidency of Ilham Aliyev’, is published in the Azerbaijani, Uzbek and English languages. It contains the international expert opinion of Akmal Saidov, a trained lawyer, about the successes that our country has made in the 20 years past. Preservation of stability and security, sustainable economic growth, creation of modern infrastructure, ensuring energy independence, implementation of wide social security programmes, technological progress and transition to e-government as well as other achievements sown by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and implemented under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev are all analysed in this particular book.

The other officials who attended this meeting included Head of the Milli Majlis Working Group for the inter-parliamentary connections with Uzbekistan Eldar Ibrahimov and the Milli Majlis Chief of Staff Farid Hajiyev.

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