BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 13. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, discussed interparliamentary relations with the President of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith on October 13.
This was reported by the Press and Public Relations Department of the Azerbaijani Parliament.
Meanwhile, President of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith on an official visit to participate in the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which will take place in Baku.
Speaking about the significance of the guest’s participation in the upcoming CICA summit in Baku, the Speaker of Parliament noted that she highly values Laos’s representation at this forum. Emphasizing that this visit marks the first official visit by a Lao head of state to Azerbaijan, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova expressed confidence that it would open a new chapter in bilateral relations.
During the conversation, the important role of high-level contacts in the development of bilateral relations was highlighted. In this regard, special attention was paid to the significance of the guest’s meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, the talks that took place, and the documents signed.
In addition, it was noted that ties between Azerbaijan and Laos are developing successfully in various areas. It was emphasized that the countries actively cooperate and support one another within the framework of international organizations, in particular the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement.
The President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thongloun Sisoulith,, noting that his last visit to Azerbaijan was 44 years ago, shared his thoughts on the remarkable progress Azerbaijan has made in recent years. He talked about the contribution of National Leader Heydar Aliyev to the development of Azerbaijani-Lao relations and highly praised his work.
Expressing his impressions of today’s meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, the Lao head of state noted that his country is interested in developing bilateral relations with Azerbaijan in the areas of inter-parliamentary cooperation, education, technology, agriculture, tourism, and other fields, as well as in exchanging experiences.
The guest noted with satisfaction that he had met today with students at Baku State University and that Azerbaijani higher education institutions had trained up to 2,000 specialists for Laos during the Soviet era, and he emphasized the importance of continuing this tradition.
During the conversation, the sides also discussed the importance of reciprocal visits by parliamentary delegations, promoting cooperation between parliamentary committees, and coordination on international platforms.
The meeting also included an exchange of views on other issues of mutual interest.