Member of Parliament and Head of the Working Group for Azerbaijani-Croatian Inter-parliamentary Relations Konul Nurullayeva, and members of the group Eldar Guliyev and Kamran Bayramov visited Croatia on September 25 at the invitation of the Head of the Croatia-Azerbaijan Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group.
On the first day of the visit, the delegation met with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Frano Matusic. The Head of the delegation, K. Nurullayeva, emphasized that Azerbaijan and Croatia cooperate efficiently within the framework of many international organizations, and mutual expansion of this cooperation is one of our priorities. During her speech, K.Nurullayeva informed about the agreements signed between the two countries so far, the work done for the development of inter-parliamentary relations, as well as the ongoing cooperation within the framework of international organizations.
Eldar Guliyev, Chairman of the Accounting Commission of the Milli Majlis, also touched on the development of bilateral relations. The deputy also mentioned the Second Karabakh war, which took place two years ago, on September 27. He said that Azerbaijan implemented 4 resolutions of the UN Security Council, restored its territorial integrity and ended the occupation. E. Guliyev stated that reconstruction and reconstruction works are being carried out in accordance with high standards in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. He noted that the landmine problem causes the loss of civilian lives. E. Guliyev pointed out that Azerbaijan is interested in establishing sustainable peace and security in the region.
Kamran Bayramov, a member of the Regional Affairs, International Relations and Inter-parliamentary Relations Committees, highlighted that the relations between the two countries are at a high level. He reminded that Azerbaijan's Sheki and Croatia's Varazdin are sister cities. He said that regional development is one of the main directions in bilateral relations. Such interregional cooperation will contribute to further expansion of existing bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Croatia.
Our delegation also met with Ivo Milatic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Croatia. Speaking at the meeting, Konul Nurullayeva reminded that economic relations occupy an important place in the bilateral cooperation between the countries and that Croatia is among the 10 countries that have the widest cooperation with Azerbaijan in terms of trade. K. Nurullayeva also reported on the activities of the Joint Commission for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation between the Governments of Azerbaijan and Croatia and Croatian companies in our country and noted that cooperation in the field of energy is also promising. In the end, K. Nurullayeva said that she was satisfied with the participation of Croatian companies in the reconstruction works carried out in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and hoped that they will be more active in this direction.
During the four-day trip, the delegation also visited the city of Karlovac. Here, the deputies met with the Head of the Province Martina Furdek Hajdin, the Deputy Head of the city's Executive Ivano Focic, the Head of the Croatian-Azerbaijan Interparliamentary Friendship Group Maja Grba-Bujevic, the President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy of Karlovac Zlatko Kuzman, the President of the Croatian Tourism Council of the Karlovac Province Zelko Fanjak, the chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Croatian Parliament Maria Jelkovac, and Chairman of the Elections, Appointments and Governance Committee of the Croatian Parliament Nada Murganic. At the meeting held at the office of the Karlovac regional administration, the Head of the Azerbaijani delegation, K. Nurullayeva, reminded that the meeting coincided with Azerbaijan's Memorial day on September 27, and spoke about the Patriotic War. Respect was expressed to the dear memory of our martyrs. The deputy said that Azerbaijan ended the 30-year occupation as a result of the 44 days long war and achieved a great victory. Touching on the bilateral relations with Croatia, K. Nurullayeva gave information about the cooperation documents signed between the city of Shaki in Azerbaijan and the city of Varazdin in Croatia and proposed to discuss the possibilities of such cooperation with the city of Karlovac. Deputy Eldar Guliyev, in turn, touched on the prospects of bilateral relations. He spoke about the opportunities created by the great Victory achieved by Azerbaijan in the Second Karabakh War. He focused on the importance of the Zangezur corridor, which serves the region's well-being.
Member of Parliament Kamran Bayramov reminded that Karlovac is an industrial city and noted the importance of evaluating mutual opportunities in this field in bilateral cooperation.
The delegation also watched the "Open Question" meeting held in the Croatian Parliament with the participation of the Cabinet of Ministers as guests. Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic, members of the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as deputies of the Croatian Parliament greeted the Azerbaijani delegation.
Our MPs then met with the Deputy Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Davorko Vidovic, and exchanged views on a number of important issues. Deputy Konul Nurullayeva made a speech and talked about inter-parliamentary relations and the history of the creation of friendship groups, which are consistent with the deep feelings of friendship and sympathy shared by both peoples. She noted the importance of the official visits of the former speakers of the Croatian parliament to Azerbaijan in 2013 and 2014, as well as the official visits of the chairman of the 5th convocation of Milli Majlis to Croatia in 2014.
Then the Azerbaijani delegation participated in a meeting with the Head of the Croatia-Azerbaijan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group Maja Grba-Bujevic and members of the group. At the meeting, a number of important proposals put forward in the direction of further strengthening and diversification of existing relations between the parliaments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Croatia during the meeting held in May between the friendship groups were repeated. The proposals were mainly related to the fields of culture, science, gender equality, youth and sports policy.
The members of the Azerbaijani delegation also met with the Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Croatian Parliament, Domagoy Hajdukovic, and the Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee, Davor Ivo Stir. During the meeting, it was noted that diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on January 26, 1995, and since then relations between our countries in the fields of education, culture, economic partnership, humanitarian issues, transport and transit partnership have been expanding dynamically. MP Konul Nurullayeva spoke and thanked Croatia for its political support and position on the Karabakh issue. She also emphasized that as a result of the 44-day war 2 years ago, Azerbaijan ended the occupation of its territories by Armenia and restored its territorial integrity. "Croatian companies are also closely involved in the reconstruction and demining works in the liberated areas," K. Nurullayeva said.
Deputy Eldar Guliyev also, in his turn, drew attention to the situation after the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. He informed about the reconstruction works carried in the liberated territories. At the same time, touching on the problem of landmines, he said that Armenia has been pursuing a destructive policy even in the post-conflict period. He stressed that this approach hinders sustainable peace and security in the region.
Deputies of the Milli Majlis held a meeting with Zarko Tusek, chairman of the Economy Committee of the Croatian Parliament. At the meeting, MP Konul Nurullayeva said that the trade turnover between our countries exceeded 1.2 billion dollars in the last two years. She mentioned that the Joint Commission for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation between the governments of Azerbaijan and Croatia was established in March 2013, and two meetings of this commission have been held so far. The deputy also expressed her confidence that the organization of the third meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission in the near future will be very useful in terms of the development of economic cooperation.
Members of the Azerbaijani delegation also met with the Minister of Tourism and Sports of Croatia, Nikolina Brnjac, and held discussions in the direction of further expansion of the existing cooperative relations between the two countries.
