2024-07-12 21:26:22
On July 11, a plenary session of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum was held in St. Petersburg. The meeting was attended by the Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova.
As reported to Day.Az by the press and public relations department of the Milli Majlis, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the forum, touching upon the importance of cooperation on the parliamentary platform, as well as issues of cooperation between BRICS member countries.
Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova spoke at the meeting and noted that the Parliamentary Forum is an important platform for dialogue and cooperation.
She brought to the attention of the participants of the event that after the restoration of its territorial integrity and sovereignty, Azerbaijan has begun large-scale restoration and reconstruction work in the territories liberated from occupation. Former internally displaced persons are already returning to their homes. Currently, Azerbaijan and Armenia continue the normalization process, which will bring long-term peace and stability to the South Caucasus region.
“Unfortunately, as the likelihood of real peace increases, we are witnessing the resumption of selective approaches, double standards and attempts to interfere,” said S. Gafarova, noting that this approach is clearly and openly applied by France in our region. She emphasized that this country, under various pretexts, is trying to interfere in the regional dynamics, to turn the South Caucasus into a field of conflicts and its own shameful neocolonialist practices. However, the tough and decisive position demonstrated by Azerbaijan firmly prevents any such attempt.
The Chairperson of the Milli Majlis stated that ensuring the effectiveness of the international system requires establishing fair relations based on mutual benefit, mutual respect and strengthening genuine multilateralism. Guided by these principles in its foreign policy, Azerbaijan promotes dialogue, cooperation and solidarity both in bilateral relations and in multilateral formats. According to her, these principles are also priorities in the activities of BRICS. Azerbaijan has already expressed its desire to join BRICS. It was noted that strengthening cooperation in this context will serve our common goals.
During her speech at the plenary session of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, Sahiba Gafarova provided information on the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP29, which will be held in Baku in November this year. The speaker noted that holding this prestigious international event in our country is an indicator of recognition of Azerbaijan’s efforts in the fight against climate change not only at the national, but also at the regional and global levels.
Calling on parliaments to be active in finding solutions to the climate crisis, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis informed the participants about the parliamentary session of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which will be held within the framework of COP29 jointly with the Inter-Parliamentary Union. She emphasized that this meeting will be a good opportunity for parliamentarians to exchange ideas and find solutions to combat climate change, and the parliament will contribute to the implementation of multilateral activities in this area. Sahiba Gafarova invited the participants of the event to this session.
It should be noted that the event was opened by the Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko. She welcomed the participants of the event and expressed her opinion on the importance of the conference and the relevance of the topics discussed.
Speaking at the plenary session, the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Tulia Akson expressed satisfaction with the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the organization she leads. She highly appreciated our country’s successful chairmanship of the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Speakers of parliaments of the organization’s member countries also spoke at the event.