Azerbaijan, Bulgaria hail successful energy cooperation PHOTO

Speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament Sahiba Gafarova has met with a delegation led by President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria Rosen Dimitrov Zhelyazkov.

Gafarova expressed confidence that this visit will contribute to the further strengthening and expansion of bilateral relations, including those between the two parliaments, the Press and PR department of the Azerbaijani parliament told Azertac.

According to the message, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria are friendly and strategic partner countries. The Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership signed in 2015 brought the relations to a qualitatively new stage.

Gafarova emphasised the importance of mutual visits and high-level meetings.

The cooperation in the energy sector plays a key role in the development of interstate relations; the importance of cooperation in the economic, energy, scientific and educational, cultural and humanitarian spheres was also noted. The consistent political talks at a high level lay the foundation for the development of ties in other spheres, the message says.

While reminding her last year’s visit to Bulgaria, Gafarova emphasised the positive role of legislative bodies in the development of relations between the two countries, stressing that mutual visits and meetings give reason to talk about the existence of good cooperation between the two parliaments today. The importance of continuing this cooperation between the relevant parliamentary committees was brought to attention.

Noting the importance of further development of cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries within the international parliamentary organisations, Gafarova said that several organisations show double standards in relation to Azerbaijan, noting that the PACE decision on the Azerbaijani delegation is nothing more than a sign of double standards.

During the meeting, the guest was informed about the current regional situation.

Zhelyazkov conveyed congratulations on the successful completion of the snap presidential elections held in Azerbaijan and the convincing victory of President Ilham Aliyev. While reminding that the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation also observed the elections, Zhelyazkov emphasised the high voter turnout, noting that these elections were held freely and transparently, and by voting for Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani people chose stability and sustainable development.

Noting that Bulgaria is interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in all spheres, Zhelyazkov touched upon successful cooperation in the energy sector and noted that this cooperation has turned Bulgaria from an energy consumer into a transit country. He noted that Bulgaria intends to join the electric cable project, which will be laid along the bottom of the Black Sea as part of a green energy project. Bulgaria is interested in developing cooperation on the Solidarity Ring project.

The guest highly appreciated Azerbaijan’s role in establishing sustainable peace in the region, as well as the work on delimitation and demarcation of borders, restoration of transport infrastructure in the region. Bulgarian companies may participate in the ongoing reconstruction and restoration work in Karabakh in the future.

Stating that Azerbaijan, as a leading country in the South Caucasus, is Bulgaria's main partner in energy issues, Zhelyazkov congratulated Azerbaijan on being chosen as the host of COP29 and called it an appreciation given to Azerbaijan's attention and care for the environmental sector. Bulgaria is ready to fully support Azerbaijan in hosting such a prestigious event as COP29.

Zhelyazkov also raised the issue of returning Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation to the PACE and noted that Bulgaria supports the re-ratification of the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation in the PACE.

During the conversation, the sides exchanged views on the prospects for the development of interstate and interparliamentary cooperation, as well as on other issues of mutual interest.