Speakers of the Parliamenta of Azerbaijan and Armenia met in Geneva

The IPU (Inter- Parliamentary Union) on March 22 hosted high-level delegations from Armenia and Azerbaijan on the eve of the IPU’s 148th Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.

IPU President Tulia Ackson and IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong welcomed to IPU headquarters the Armenian delegation, led by the Speaker of the Azgayin Zhogov (National Assembly), Mr. Alen Simonyan, and the Azerbaijani delegation, led by the Speaker of the Milli Mejlis (National Assembly), Ms. Sahiba Gafarova.

The meeting was designed as a complement and contribution at the parliamentary level to governmental peace negotiations between the two sides. Parliamentarians, as representatives of the people, have a key role to play in reducing tensions and building confidence, as well as in ratifying and implementing any future peace agreement.

The IPU offered its good offices to the two sides to promote dialogue, build good neighbourly relations, and to help pave the way towards a normalization of ties between the two countries.

This was the first time that the two Parliaments had met. Both sides agreed to continue the dialogue to rebuild trust under the auspices of the IPU.

The meeting follows the IPU Secretary General’s mission to Armenia and Azerbaijan in February 2024, during which he met the authorities at the highest levels and laid down some of the groundwork for today’s discussions.

The IPU also signed memoranda of understanding with Armenia, which will host the IPU Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians in September 2024, and with Azerbaijan, in its capacity as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network.