AZERBAIJAN SPEAKER MEETS WITH US CONGRESSMAN
Chairman of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijan Parliament) Oqtay Asadov met with visiting member of the U.S. House of Representatives Pete Hoekstra.
The Azerbaijani Speaker said his country places special emphasis on its relationships with the United States of America.
Oqtay Asadov said mutual visits by the Azerbaijani and U.S. MPs help to strengthen the bilateral interparliamentary cooperation between the two countries.
He stressed the important role both countries` leaders played in pushing the Azerbaijan-US ties to the level of strategic partnership.
Mr. Asadov said Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev’s Washington visit marked a new stage in the development of his country`s relations with the United States.
On Azerbaijan`s participation in a war against terrorism, the Speaker noted soldiers of the Azerbaijan Armed Forces are involved in peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries worldwide.
Oqtay Asadov expressed his gratitude to the US Government for supporting realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines, and temporarily suspending the Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.
The Milli Majlis Chairman said he believes the complete abolishment of the Act will help to boost the economic ties between the two countries, and give the U.S. businessmen wider opportunities to invest in Azerbaijan`s economy.
On the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Oqtay Asadov stressed his country’s just stance on the dispute.
He said he believes the USA, which co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group, will step up its efforts towards the conflict`s settlement.
U.S. Congressman Pete Hoekstra said his country is keen to strengthen its inter-parliamentary ties with Azerbaijan.
Mr. Hoekstra noted the mutual visits by the two countries` parliamentarians will continue being organized in future.
Oqtay Asadov and Pete Hoekstra also discussed a wide range of other issues of mutual concern.
Also in attendance at the meeting were First Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis Ziyafat Asgarov, Head of the Milli Majlis Apparatus Safa Mirzayev, the U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mrs. Anne Derse and other top-ranking officials.
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