Azerbaijan’s NAM Chairmanship Legacy Highlighted at Youth Parliamentary Cooperation Event

Baku, The Gulf Observer: Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova addressed the event “The Role of Youth in Parliamentary Cooperation” as a guest of honour at the headquarters of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Organisation (NAMYO) on September 14.

In her address, Gafarova highlighted Azerbaijan’s significant contributions to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) during the country’s four-year chairmanship of the organization.

She noted that Azerbaijan’s chairmanship coincided with a period marked by serious global challenges, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan played an important role in strengthening solidarity among NAM member states and demonstrating the movement’s capacity for practical cooperation during the pandemic, she said.

Gafarova recalled Azerbaijan’s initiatives to convene an online NAM summit on COVID-19 and a special session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the pandemic. She also highlighted Azerbaijan’s efforts to promote equitable access to vaccines and provide assistance to countries in need.

The Speaker said that strengthening the international role of the NAM and advancing its institutional development were among the key priorities during Azerbaijan’s chairmanship.

She emphasized that the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Network and the NAM Parliamentary Network (NAMPN), initiated by President Ilham Aliyev, represented important steps in this institutional development. The Youth Network was subsequently transformed into the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Organisation in accordance with a 2019 resolution.

According to Gafarova, NAMYO and NAMPN perform distinct but complementary roles, with one providing an international platform for young people and the other bringing together the parliaments of NAM member states.

Addressing the establishment and development of NAMPN, Gafarova noted that the network was established on the sidelines of the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Madrid in 2021. Chaired by Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis, the network has since developed its institutional structure, expanded international cooperation and organized five conferences in different countries.

Concluding her remarks, Gafarova described NAMYO and NAMPN as important legacies of Azerbaijan’s chairmanship and active institutions contributing to the future development and continuity of the Non-Aligned Movement.