As part of her official visit to Italy, Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Parliament, has met with members of the European Union Policy Commission of the Italian Senate and the Italy-Azerbaijan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group.
Italian Senator Giulio Terzi expressed confidence that this visit would contribute to the development of bilateral relations. He once again offered condolences to the Speaker of the Milli Majlis on the 35th anniversary of the 20 January tragedy and the plane crash of 25 December 2024. The Senator noted that the condolences expressed by Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani regarding the plane crash are a vivid example of the friendship between the two countries.
Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova hailed the high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Italy. Speaker Gafarova emphasized that reciprocal visits play a significant role in further strengthening ties. She noted that President Ilham Aliyev’s visits to Italy, including his visit in September last year, as well as the Italian President’s visit to Azerbaijan, was instrumental in expanding and deepening bilateral relations.
The meeting underscored the fruitful co-operation between Azerbaijan and Italy in various fields, with discussions focusing on economic collaboration, particularly in transport and energy. The positive development of relations in the humanitarian sphere, especially the importance of projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Italy were also highlighted.
The sides also commended the activities of the Azerbaijan-Italy University, with members of the commission stating that the university is a source of great pride and honour for every Italian visiting Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the environmental protection, the parties also noted the participation of Italy’s Prime Minister in the COP29, which demonstrated Italy’s strong focus on this issue.
The Italian side expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan, particularly to President Ilham Aliyev, for the high level of organization and hosting of the COP29. They described the successful outcome of the conference and the achievement of significant results as a result of Azerbaijan’s proactive stance.
Speaker Sahiba Gafarova highlighted the role of the mutual friendship groups in the development of relations between the parliaments of the two countries, underscoring the importance of increasing the frequency of reciprocal visits in this context. “Enhancing the intensity of such visits will help present more accurate information to the public, especially amid the spread of false news about Azerbaijan in Europe,” Gafarova said.
Head of the Italy-Azerbaijan Friendship Group for Interparliamentary Relations Marco Scurria shared his thoughts on the prospects for further developing bilateral relations. He expressed concern over the biased stance towards Azerbaijan displayed in the PACE.
The meeting continued in an interactive format with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis responding to the questions from the opposing side regarding Azerbaijan-Italy relations, Azerbaijan’s foreign policy priorities, the current situation in the South Caucasus region, as well as the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.