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The delegation led by President of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs, in our country on an official visit, arrived at the Milli Majlis on 22 April. Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova welcomed the guests.
First, the President of Latvia was acquainted with the Plenary Chamber of the Milli Majlis. The guests then went to the memorial hall named in honour of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and viewed the exhibits there telling of the different periods of the life and political activities of the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev. President of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs left a heartfelt record in the Memorial Book kept there.
An expanded meeting of the parties was held then.
Stressing that this is the guest’s first visit to Azerbaijan in his current capacity, the Speaker said she hoped that the meetings and discussions forthcoming during the visit would turn a page in the progress of the bilateral relations and would also generate a powerful momentum behind their development.
As she emphasised the significance of high-level reciprocal visits and a consistent political dialogue for the development of the bilateral ties, the Speaker pointed out that mutual visits of the Heads of State and their regular meetings at various events did, in this regard, afford sound opportunities to discuss matters of shared interest.
The Speaker of the Milli Majlis recalled her official visit to Latvia in 2022 and spoke approvingly of the outcomes of that visit and of the meetings held there.
Touching upon the inter-parliamentary relations of the two countries, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis mentioned the close co-operation put in place in this field. Reciprocal visits and the parliamentary friendship groups play a special role in this co-operation.
Speaker Sahiba Gafarova also recalled contentedly the trip of members of the Friendship Group of the Parliament of Latvia to the de-occupied towns of Aghdam and Fuzuli in 2021 and the former Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa having gone to the de-occupied towns of Fuzuli and Shusha in the course of her official visit to Azerbaijan in 2024.
The Speaker of the Milli Majlis talked about the close co-operation that exists between our Parliaments before observing that the intensity of our parliamentary co-operation was sufficiently satisfactory. It was said that the Parliaments’ interaction, bilaterally as well as in international organisations, could bear favourably upon the growth of the links between the countries as well as on the co-operation for peace, stability and sustainable development.
As the conversation continued, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis provided the guest with thorough information about the normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, about the history of Azerbaijan’s independence and parliamentarism and about also the structure and workings of the Parliament.
Stating contentment with being at the Milli Majlis, President of the Republic of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs shared impressions from the meeting and discussions held with President Ilham Aliyev during the visit. He said that they considered Azerbaijan a valuable strategic partner for Latvia and the European Union alike. The guest voiced support for the achievements made in the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and satisfaction with the real progress secured to date. The President of the Republic of Latvia broached the great endeavours made by President Ilham Aliyev in this peace process, adding that it is gratifying to learn also the attitude of the Parliament to this peace process.
Addressing the importance of the discussions conducted and documents signed in the course of the current visit to Azerbaijan, the Head of State of Latvia said he was confident that those documents and agreements attained would bear fruit soon enough. The President of Latvia underlined the significance of inter-parliamentary ties and spoke about the pertaining importance of regular visits and exchange of experience between MPs and Working Groups for inter-parliamentary relations. He shared his thoughts as to the development prospects of the two countries’ relations in the economic, educational, investment, IT, agricultural, tourism and other sectors.
The meeting also saw an exchange of opinions about other matters of joint interest to the parties.
