BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 16. Azerbaijan’s
Parliament Speaker Sahiba Gafarova met with Palestinian Prime
Minister Mohammad Mustafa, who is visiting Azerbaijan, on July
16.


The meeting was reported by the Press and Public Relations
Department of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijan’s Parliament).


During the talks, Gafarova highlighted the friendly relations
and cooperation based on mutual respect between Azerbaijan and
Palestine. She said the two countries are united by shared
religious, moral and family values, as well as longstanding
friendly ties between their peoples.


Emphasizing the importance of high-level visits and meetings in
deepening bilateral relations, the speaker expressed confidence
that the Palestinian prime minister’s visit would contribute to
further developing ties and expanding cooperation between the two
countries.


Gafarova noted that Azerbaijan maintains a principled position
on the Palestinian issue and consistently upholds this position
within international organizations.


The sides also highlighted the opening of Azerbaijan’s
Representative Office in Ramallah in 2023 as an important step in
advancing bilateral relations. Gafarova recalled that Azerbaijan’s
Parliament unanimously adopted a law establishing the office in
November 2022.


Discussing the importance of interparliamentary cooperation,
Gafarova said Azerbaijan’s Parliament maintains effective
cooperation with the Palestinian National Council both bilaterally
and within frameworks such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the
Parliamentary Union of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
(PUIC), the Asian Parliamentary Assembly and the Non-Aligned
Movement Parliamentary Network.


She noted that Azerbaijan continues to keep the Palestinian
issue among its priorities within international organizations and
other multilateral platforms, approaching the matter with
particular sensitivity.


The meeting also addressed opportunities for cooperation in
humanitarian areas, particularly education and culture.
Satisfaction was expressed with the education of Palestinian
students in Azerbaijan, while the opportunities provided to them
through the “Heydar Aliyev International Education Grant Program”
were highly appreciated.


Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa thanked the
Azerbaijani government, people and parliament for their consistent
political, diplomatic and humanitarian support for the Palestinian
cause.


Highlighting the importance of his meetings with Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Ali Asadov, Mustafa said
the continued support of Azerbaijan’s leadership would never be
forgotten by the Palestinian people. He also praised Azerbaijan’s
contribution to international peace initiatives and said Palestine
remains committed to achieving a just and lasting peace based on
the “two-state” principle.


Mustafa said there is significant potential to expand
cooperation between the two countries in agriculture, education and
humanitarian fields. In this context, he highlighted the
construction of a school in Palestine with Azerbaijan’s support and
other joint projects.


The Palestinian prime minister also emphasized the importance of
further developing interparliamentary cooperation and expanding
collaboration across various areas.


At the conclusion of the meeting, Mustafa expressed admiration
for Azerbaijan’s rapid development and reconstruction efforts,
wishing peace, prosperity and success to the Azerbaijani
people.