BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 12. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, spoke at a press conference following the 14th plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries (TURKPA) held in Kazakhstan's Astana on June 12, the parliamentary press service told Trend.
Gafarova noted that the chairmanship of TURKPA has passed from Azerbaijan’s National Assembly to Kazakhstan’s Parliament, expressing confidence that this transition will strengthen the organization and further solidify their common work.
The Speaker emphasized the great importance Azerbaijan’s National Assembly places on its activities within TURKPA, highlighting the foundation of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between brotherly countries’ parliaments as rooted in the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev’s words: “We have no other family. Our family is the Turkic world.”
She added that the unity and solidarity of peoples sharing common roots and national-spiritual values is a natural process, increasingly reflected in the strengthening and expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations, mutual support, and joint initiatives among the Turkic states.
According to the Speaker, Turkic cooperation organizations play a vital role in this process. The rich agenda of cooperation has made not only traditional summit meetings of the heads of state of the Turkic Council necessary, but also informal summit meetings — a concept initiated by President Ilham Aliyev. The first informal summit took place last July in Shusha, Azerbaijan’s cultural capital liberated from Armenian occupation, and the second was held this May in Budapest.
Gafarova highlighted that as representatives of brotherly peoples, parliamentarians are always mindful of how they can contribute to this process. In this regard, she described TURKPA as an important platform enabling the realization of shared interests and directing multifaceted cooperation toward common goals.
Reflecting on TURKPA’s significant progress over the years, the Speaker said it has become an effective mechanism for mutually beneficial parliamentary collaboration. She recalled the successful completion of the Assembly’s 14th Council and plenary sessions, during which past achievements and plans were reviewed.
The Astana Declaration, adopted following the plenary session, represents a common position on issues of mutual interest and reflects the mutual trust and support between the parliaments of the participating countries.
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