Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova has taken part in an event held in honour of Georgia’s national holiday – the Independence Day.

In her address at that event, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis conveyed the sincere congratulations and best wishes of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr Ilham Aliyev on the occasion of the Independence Day of Georgia.

Having touched upon the deep-rooted relationship between Azerbaijan and Georgia, Sahiba Gafarova added that our peoples have been side by side for centuries, having lived in friendship and good neighbourhood and having always supported each other.

Fruitful collaboration was established between the Georgian Democratic Republic and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the early 20^th century. Today, meanwhile, the relations between our friendly and fraternal states bear the nature of a strategic partnership that plays a stabilising role in the South Caucasus.

Azerbaijan and Georgia pursue a policy of good neighbourliness, respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and are setting an example for other states. We advocate peace, stability and sustainable development throughout the region, and rejoice in each other’s successes.

The reciprocal visits by Heads of State as well as their periodical meetings clearly demonstrate the great importance they attach to the relations. The high-level political dialogue between Heads of State fosters the further strengthening and deepening of our ties across all areas. 

Going further, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova said that our countries had built a solid and sustained model of effective bilateral co-operation encompassing the most diverse fields, from politics to economics, from sciences and education to culture. The endeavours of the joint Inter-Governmental Commission for Economic Co-operation generate further opportunities to broaden this interaction.

Azerbaijan is one of the states which are investing the most actively in the Georgian economy, including in its key sectors of energy and transport. Such projects brought forth by our fruitful co-operation as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line not only serve the cause of our nations’ prosperity but also play tremendous roles in the shaping of the new transport and energy corridor between the East and the West, betwixt Europe and Asia.

Turning to the significance of the humanitarian co-operation between our countries next, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova said that the Azerbaijanis living in Georgia constitute an integral component of the Georgian society whilst the Georgians living in Azerbaijan are an integral component of the Azerbaijani society. They are respected and taken care of in both countries. They contribute considerably to the progress of our friendly and brotherly states’ humanitarian ties.

The on-going work done in the fields of education, science and culture, particularly the numerous projects implemented in Georgia by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation under the leadership of the First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, contributes to the further rapprochement of our peoples and states.

As the Speaker emphasised, the mutual trust, confidence and support between Azerbaijan and Georgia are also demonstrable in our international activities. Azerbaijan and Georgia demonstrate solidarity consistently in all international organisations.

Closing her speech, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis expressed a confidence that the firm friendship and partnership of Azerbaijan and Georgia will only be developing further and serving the prosperity of our peoples in the years to come. Once again, the Speaker conveyed congratulations on the holiday and wished the brotherly Georgia further successes as well as peace and stability.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis