Azerbaijan, Montenegro Discuss Expansion of Parliamentary and Bilateral Cooperation
Baku, The Gulf Observer: Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Parliament (Milli Majlis) Sahiba Gafarova met with a delegation led by Ervin Ibrahimović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, on December 20 to discuss the current state and future prospects of bilateral relations.
The meeting focused on the friendly and partnership-based ties between Azerbaijan and Montenegro. Both sides highlighted the importance of reciprocal high-level and summit visits in advancing cooperation, recalling President Ilham Aliyev’s official visit to Montenegro in 2013 and Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović’s visit to Azerbaijan in November 2024 in connection with COP29.
The discussions covered cooperation in economic, tourism, investment and other areas, as well as various aspects of the bilateral agenda. It was noted that an active and constructive political dialogue creates new opportunities for cooperation in other fields, while humanitarian and cultural exchanges play an important role in strengthening people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Inter-parliamentary cooperation was identified as a key pillar of bilateral relations, with particular emphasis on the role of parliamentary diplomacy. Speaker Gafarova referred to her official visit to Montenegro in April 2024 and the high-level meetings held during the visit, as well as subsequent visits by the chairmen of the Montenegrin Parliament to Azerbaijan. She underlined the importance of regular contacts between legislative bodies, reciprocal visits, and the activities of parliamentary friendship groups in deepening inter-parliamentary dialogue.
The Speaker also stressed the value of exchanging legislative experience between relevant committees and providing mutual support within international parliamentary organizations.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ervin Ibrahimović reaffirmed the importance Montenegro attaches to further strengthening relations with Azerbaijan and praised the close political dialogue between the two countries. He expressed gratitude for Speaker Gafarova’s visit to Montenegro last year, noting its positive impact on the development of bilateral ties.
Highlighting economic cooperation, Ibrahimović noted that Azerbaijan was Montenegro’s largest investor in 2019. He also emphasised the significant role of tourism in promoting inter-state relations and pointed to the substantial potential for expanding cooperation in this sector.
