Daily Times

A 14-member parliamentary delegation led by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser has embarked for Baku, Azerbaijan to participate in the first trilateral meeting of the speakers of parliaments of Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey.

This parliamentary visit is on the special invitation of Speaker of Mili Majlis of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova for participation in the trilateral meeting of speakers of Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey going to be held in Baku from Monday till Saturday.

The formation of the trilateral platform was the idea of Gafarova and it was endorsed by speakers of Pakistan and Turkey as a symbol of close and cordial relations between the three countries.

The trilateral meeting will be preceded by the meeting of the executive committee of the speakers of three parliaments to be held today (Tuesday) to deliberate upon enhancing regional cooperation and connectivity. The deliberations regarding the content of the ‘Baku Declaration’ and determining the venue of the second trilateral meeting would also be made during committee meetings.

Apart from participating in the first trilateral meeting, the Pakistani delegation will have meetings with Azeri delegations. Azerbaijan and Pakistan will also sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on inter-parliamentary cooperation. The visit will serve the interests of Pakistan’s policy to foster relations with brotherly countries and complement the vision of regional connectivity. Qaiser will reiterate Pakistan’s support to Azerbaijan as well as felicitating Azeri authorities on their victory in the war for the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh. The speaker will also highlight the issue of Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJK) during the visit.

The Pakistani parliamentary delegation comprises MNAs Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Saleh Muhammad, Saif-ur-Rehman, Shaukat Ali, Munaza Hussain, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Fazal Muhammad Khan, Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, Dr Aisha Ghaus Pasha, Syed Mustafa Mehmood, Syed Hussain Tariq, Usama Qadri and Naz Baloch.