BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 16. Azerbaijani Parliament’s Chairperson Sahiba Gafarova has met with the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Duarte Pacheco, the press and public relations department of the parliament told TurkicWorld.

Greeting the guest, Gafarova thanked him for participating in a special meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliament dedicated to the 100th anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev.

The chairperson noted that by the decree of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, 2023 was declared the "Year of Heydar Aliyev" on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, in connection with which commemorative events are held at the state level, including by the Azerbaijani Parliament.

Besides, Gafarova said that Heydar Aliyev, both in Soviet times and in the years of independence, devoted himself to preserving and strengthening the Azerbaijani statehood and serving his people.

According to her, the great leader forever inscribed his name in the history of Azerbaijan with his leadership qualities and far-sighted policy.

"Our grateful people will always keep the memory of their great son in their hearts," she added.

Gafarova also stressed that independent Azerbaijan is currently developing dynamically under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev.

The chairperson noted that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with the IPU, and highly appreciates its role in the development of inter-parliamentary relations and global parliamentary diplomacy.

Speaking about the active participation of Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation in the work of the IPU, Gafarova reminded that the country’s parliament was elected a member of the Eurasia geopolitical group in February 2022.

She thanked Pacheco for supporting Azerbaijan’s initiative to create the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Parliamentary Network and participating in its activities during the chairmanship in the NAM.

Furthermore, the chairperson noted that Azerbaijan is committed to inter-parliamentary cooperation and that the NAM Parliamentary Network also intends to contribute to the achievement of common goals and work together with other parliamentary organizations, including the IPU, to find ways to resolve issues of global interest.

Pacheco thanked for the invitation to the parliament’s special meeting and expressed satisfaction with participation in the event.

He stressed the important role of Azerbaijan as a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

At the meeting, an exchange of views on a number of issues related to cooperation between the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the NAM Parliamentary Network has been also held.

The special meeting has been attended by 228 foreign delegates, including 12 chairmen of the parliaments of the countries, 15 deputy chairmen of parliaments, and representatives of four international organizations.