Azerbaijan, Bahrain Parliamentary Speakers Discuss Strengthening Bilateral Ties

Manama, The Gulf Observer: Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh, Chairman of Bahrain’s Shura Council, on January 25 during her official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, to discuss ways to further deepen bilateral and inter-parliamentary relations.

Welcoming the Azerbaijani parliamentary speaker, Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh expressed confidence that the visit would contribute to strengthening ties between the two countries and their legislative bodies. He said Bahrain is interested in expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan and underscored the importance of further broadening inter-parliamentary relations as part of overall bilateral engagement.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova thanked her host for the high-level hospitality and noted that the first official visit by the Speaker of the Azerbaijani parliament to Bahrain provided a valuable opportunity to hold substantive discussions on enhancing bilateral relations.

During the meeting, the two sides highlighted the common religious and cultural values shared by the peoples of Azerbaijan and Bahrain, describing them as an important foundation for friendly relations between the two countries. They emphasized the significant potential for expanding cooperation across various fields and expressed confidence that continued political contacts and mutual visits would give new impetus to bilateral ties.

The meeting also underscored the positive cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bahrain within international and regional organizations, including the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the mutual support extended within these forums.

Discussions further focused on cooperation between the legislative bodies, with both leaders noting that effective working ties have been established between the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Bahrain. They pointed out that reciprocal visits at the level of parliamentary speakers have played an important role in deepening these relations.

Speaker Gafarova recalled her previous meetings with Ali bin Saleh Al Saleh and welcomed his participation in the conference of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network held in Manama. The sides noted that Bahrain’s parliament is represented at all conferences and parliamentary events of the Network, including its governing bodies, reflecting the close parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.