ArmInfo. On March 22, the President of the RA National Assembly Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of Parliament of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova within the framework of the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union being held in Geneva, the press service of the Armenian Parliament reports. The meeting was organized on the initiative and mediation of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The possible support of the parliaments of the two countries to the process of the peaceful negotiations going on between Armenia and Azerbaijan was discussed. The sides agreed to observe the opportunity of dialogue at inter-parliamentary level. The meeting was held in the constructive atmosphere.
At the end of the meeting the heads of the parliaments of the two countries made a joint statement.
In addition, as the IPU official website reports, on the sidelines of the IPU session, yesterday, the leadership of the Inter-Parliamentary Union "hosted high-level delegations from Armenia and Azerbaijan on the eve of the IPU's 148th Assembly, which takes place from 23-27 March in Geneva, Switzerland." According to the source, IPU President Tulia Ackson and IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong welcomed to IPU headquarters the Armenian delegation, led by the Speaker of the Azgayin Zhogov (National Assembly), Mr. Alen Simonyan, and the Azerbaijani delegation, led by the Speaker of the Milli Mejlis (National Assembly), Ms. Sahiba Gafarova. The meeting was designed as a complement and contribution at the parliamentary level to governmental peace negotiations between the two sides. Parliamentarians, as representatives of the people, have a key role to play in reducing tensions and building confidence, as well as in ratifying and implementing any future peace agreement. The IPU offered its good offices to the two sides to promote dialogue, build good neighbourly relations, and to help pave the way towards a normalization of ties between the two countries.
This was the first time that the two Parliaments had met. Both sides agreed to continue the dialogue to rebuild trust under the auspices of the IPU.
The meeting follows the IPU Secretary General's mission to Armenia and Azerbaijan in February 2024, during which he met the authorities at the highest levels and laid down some of the groundwork for today's discussions. The IPU also signed memoranda of understanding with Armenia, which will host the IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in September 2024, and with Azerbaijan, in its capacity as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network (NAM PN)," they noted.
