BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 16. On April 22, a
delegation led by the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, who is
on an official visit to Azerbaijan, visited the Milli Majlis
(National Assembly). The guests were welcomed by Speaker of the
Azerbaijani Parliament, Sahiba Gafarova, the parliamentary press
service told Trend.


The Latvian President first familiarized himself with the
plenary hall of the parliament. The delegation then visited the
memorial hall dedicated to National Leader Heydar Aliyev, where
they viewed exhibits reflecting various stages of his life and
political career. Edgars Rinkēvičs also wrote his thoughts in the
memorial book.


A broad-format meeting between the sides was later held.
Highlighting that this is the Latvian President’s first visit to
Azerbaijan in his current capacity, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova
expressed hope that the meetings and discussions held during the
visit would open a new chapter in bilateral relations and give a
strong impetus to their development.


The Speaker emphasized the importance of high-level reciprocal
visits and regular political dialogue for strengthening ties,
noting that meetings between the heads of state at various events
create favourable opportunities to discuss issues of mutual
interest. She also recalled her official visit to Latvia in 2022
with satisfaction.


Touching upon interparliamentary relations, the Speaker noted
that close cooperation has been established in this field, with
mutual visits and parliamentary friendship groups playing a key
role. She highlighted that in 2021, members of Latvia’s
parliamentary friendship group visited the liberated cities of
Aghdam and Fuzuli, while in 2024, former Speaker of the Saeima
Daiga Mieriņa visited Azerbaijan and travelled to Fuzuli and
Shusha.


It was noted that the intensity of interparliamentary
cooperation is satisfactory, and both bilateral engagement and
cooperation within international organizations contribute
positively to strengthening relations, as well as to promoting
peace, stability, and sustainable development.


During the meeting, the Speaker provided detailed information on
the Azerbaijan-Armenia normalisation process, the country’s history
of independence and parliamentarism, as well as the structure and
activities of the legislature.


Expressing satisfaction with his visit to the Azerbaijani
Parliament, Edgars Rinkēvičs shared his impressions of his meeting
with President Ilham Aliyev and the discussions held. He stated
that Azerbaijan is regarded as a valuable strategic partner for
both Latvia and the European Union (EU). He also expressed support
for the progress achieved in the peace process between Azerbaijan
and Armenia and praised the efforts of President Ilham Aliyev in
this regard, adding that learning the parliament’s perspective on
the peace process is also of great interest.


Speaking about the importance of the issues discussed and
documents signed during the visit, the Latvian President expressed
confidence that the agreements reached would soon yield results. He
emphasized the importance of interparliamentary relations,
underlining the role of regular visits and exchanges between
parliamentary members and working groups.


Edgars Rinkēvičs also shared views on prospects for expanding
cooperation between the two countries in areas such as the economy,
education, investment, information technologies, agriculture,
tourism, and other sectors.


The meeting also included an exchange of views on other issues
of mutual interest.


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