Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis, attended the 14th plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic States (TURKPA) held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on June 12.
In her remarks, the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Speaker and the TURKPA Incumbent Chairwoman expressed her confidence that the forthcoming exchange of opinions and decisions to be adopted during the event would contribute to achieving the organization’s goals, The Caspian Post reports.
Speaker Sahiba Gafarova also provided an overview of the progress made in the Organization under the presidency of the Milli Majlis. Sahiba Gafarova emphasized that every effort had been made over the past period to strengthen the inter-parliamentary ties and boosting the activities of TURKPA.
Noting that TURKPA stands apart from other international platforms as an entity that unites under its umbrella representatives of the fraternal peoples, sharing a common heritage and national spiritual values, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis remarked that the effective work of TURKPA provides parliamentary support for the expansion of unity and solidarity among the Turkic nations at a time when co-operation among the brotherly countries is growing day by day. She added that the organization also contributes to delivering the unified stance of the Turkic World to the international parliamentary platforms.
Speaker Sahiba Gafarova further said that the presidency of the Milli Majlis in the organization had been conducted in accordance with the Action Plan adopted at the 13th TURKPA Council Meeting. She highlighted the regular meetings of the permanent commissions held during the past period, all in accordance with the Action Plan, with continuous efforts being made towards harmonizing the legislation of the member states. Gafarova underscored significant steps towards developing model laws, which constitute a crucial aspect of the process of forming a unified legal framework. Moreover, elections and referendum monitoring were carried out successfully, contributing to the strengthening of the cooperation between the state institutions of Member States and the Assembly, whilst also promoting the further development of democratic election traditions within the Assembly’s Member States.
She commended the work of the TURKPA Women Parliamentarians Group and the Young Parliamentarians Group in enhancing the role of women and youth in the Turkic states, as well as furthering cooperation among women and young representatives of the Member Parliaments. Gafarova also described the multifaceted cooperation and dialogue among individual parliamentary committees within the framework of TURKPA as a significant contribution to the collective efforts.
The event also saw discussions on organizational matters and adoption of the relevant decisions, with TURKPA’s presidency being passed on to Kazakhstan.
