BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 13. Chair of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis (Parliament) Sahiba Gafarova met with Secretary General of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Siti Rozaimeriyanty Dato Haji Abdul Rahman during a working visit to the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Manama, Trend reports via the parliament.
The high level of cooperation between the Azerbaijani Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly was noted during the meeting. In addition, the granting of observer status to the Parliament of Azerbaijan in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly last year was also mentioned. It was noted that usually, parliaments have to wait for 2-3 years to obtain this status, whereas Azerbaijan's application was endorsed instantly.
Sahiba Gafarova, as Chair of the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), noted that the Network is interested in striking up active ties with inter-parliamentary entities, including the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. Speaking about the activities of the NAM Parliamentary Network, she noted the broad international support for the significant initiatives brought forth by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in his capacity as the Chair of the NAM.
Sahiba Gafarova also spoke about the founding meeting of the Network in Madrid in 2021, its first conference held in Baku, and the preparations made for the second conference that is due to take place in the Bahraini capital on March 13.
She also gave detailed information about the Network's growing cooperation with other inter-parliamentary organizations. Gafarova noted that the NAM Parliamentary Network already has observer status in three inter-parliamentary organizations: the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Union of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab Parliament.
The secretary general of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly highly appreciated Azerbaijan's successful chairmanship of the NAM Parliamentary Network, and noted the broad international approval of the steps taken by Azerbaijan to ensure the institutional development of the Network.
Further, an exchange of opinions took place on other issues of mutual interest. The meeting ended with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.
