President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held a meeting in the Milli Mejlis on the second day of the official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan.During the meeting, the head of Turkmenistan and the head of the Azerbaijan parliament Ogtay Asadov exchanged views on a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues.
Ogtay Asadov stressed that he was sincerely glad to meet with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.Noting the importance of the current visit, the head of the Azerbaijan parliament expressed confidence that the results of the high-level talks held on the eve will serve to further strengthen and expand full-scale cooperation between our countries.
During the meeting, a high Turkmen guest was acquainted with the structure of the Milli Mejlis, which realized legislative power in the Republic of Azerbaijan.The national parliament of the republic is elected on the basis of the majority electoral system and universal, equal and direct elections by free, personal and secret ballot.
Milli Mejlis is a unicameral parliament consisting of 125 deputies.The current composition, which represents the parties: "New Azerbaijan", Civil Solidarity Party, Motherland Party, as well as non-party members, was elected on November 1, 2015.
As for international cooperation, the Milli Mejlis is a full member of a number of universal and regional international parliamentary organizations of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic-speaking countries, an associate member of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO.
As the Speaker of the Milli Mejlis emphasized, the establishment of a new qualitative content of bilateral contacts, the development of the experience exchange in the field of lawmaking was facilitated by the established fruitful ties between the parliaments of our two countries.
In this context, the aspiration was expressed to expand Turkmen-Azerbaijan interaction in the legal sphere.Thanking Ogtay Asadov for the warm welcome, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that he was glad of today's meeting, held within the framework of the official visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
As the Turkmen leader emphasized, this visit was undoubtedly an important milestone in the history of bilateral relations.A solid package of documents, signed on the basis of the reached agreements, demonstrates the high level of the Turkmen-Azerbaijan partnership, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.
As the Turkmen leader noted, there were no insoluble problems between our states.Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan stand for the solution of the problems of our time exclusively through diplomatic channels, within the framework of universally recognized norms of international law.
The Turkmen leader noted the importance of strengthening the relations between the legislative structures of the two countries.In this context, the interest was expressed in establishing close inter-parliamentary contacts for the exchange of experience and further development of this area of cooperation.
President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted that our countries demonstrate dynamic growth of national economies and high level of welfare of the population, which is the result of the progressive policy pursued by Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, as well as the commitment of the two countries’ peoples to the traditions of democracy.
In the course of the meeting, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov drew attention to the peculiarities of the updated Constitution of Turkmenistan adopted in September 2016 and the universally recognized principles and norms of international law, which are fully in line with the world and national experience.
This important event opened a new era in the history of the grandiose transformations taking place in the country.Centuries-old traditions of good-neighborliness, the commonality of history, culture, language and spiritual values connect our states and peoples.
We cherish this treasure carefully, enriching it with new content, the Turkmen leader said.One of the main tasks is to transfer the successes to the descendants, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted, stressing that the parliamentarians of the two countries played an important role in this process.
Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan consider the Caspian Sea as the sea of peace, friendship, security and cooperation and are interested in implementing all the agreements reached at the level of the heads of the Caspian states.
A key factor of sustainability and positive development in the region is the coordinated bilateral interaction, said President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.For many centuries the Great Silk Road ran through the territories of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
Today, the re-creation of this ancient route thanks to the favorable geographical location of our countries is again topical.In this regard, large-scale projects to create a transport and logistics hub on the international East-West corridor are of great importance, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.
The successful implementation of the work in this direction is intended to contribute to the formation of international logistics infrastructure connecting Europe and Asia, which will make a significant contribution to the revival of the historic Silk Road, the Turkmen leader said.
Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have rich hydrocarbon resources, the head of the state continued, noting that the current level of development of national economies allows countries to successfully realize their huge economic and natural potential.
Noting the importance of comprehensive cooperation in the field of culture, science, education, information and tourism, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted with satisfaction that in recent years Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan have made a great contribution to the development of international sports and invited the leadership of the Milli Mejlis to take part in the opening of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
Particular emphasis was made on the need to strengthen relations between the parliaments of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan within the framework of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Parliamentary Assemblies of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Our partnership will create a reliable legal basis for the successful implementation of state programs for political and socio-economic development of the two countries, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed conviction.
At the end of the conversation, the Turkmen leader wished good health, happiness and further success in their responsible state activities the head of Milli Mejlis and all the participants of the meeting.
Expressing confidence that the contacts between the parliaments of both countries will become even more fruitful, Ogtay Asadov confirmed the readiness of the Azerbaijan Parliament to assist in expanding interstate cooperation.