Today, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova met with the President of the Slovak Republic, Peter Pellegrini, who is on an official visit to our country.
This was reported to elchi by the Press and Public Relations Department of the Milli Majlis.
Sahiba Gafarova noted that in recent years, relations between Azerbaijan and Slovakia have developed dynamically, rising to the level of a strategic partnership. She stated that the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership signed in 2024 has created a solid foundation for the successful development of cooperation across various directions. The Speaker emphasized the important role of active political dialogue and high-level mutual visits in this process, noting that the first official visit of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to Slovakia in December 2025, as well as President Peter Pellegrini’s current official visit to our country, have opened a new stage in the development of Azerbaijan-Slovakia relations.
The Speaker of the Milli Majlis recalled with pleasure her previous meetings with Peter Pellegrini. She stated that the official visit of Peter Pellegrini, who had previously visited Azerbaijan as the Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia and later as the Prime Minister of Slovakia, this time in the capacity of the President of the Slovak Republic, as well as the talks he held with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in Shusha, are of special importance for the development of bilateral relations. The Speaker expressed her confidence that this visit would make a significant contribution to further strengthening Azerbaijan-Slovakia ties and expanding cooperation.
It was emphasized that the launch of direct flights between Baku and Bratislava starting from October of this year will make a significant contribution to the development of relations between the peoples and the creation of new cooperation opportunities.
During the conversation, it was highlighted that inter-parliamentary cooperation is one of the important directions of Azerbaijan-Slovakia relations. The meeting underscored the importance of ties between inter-parliamentary friendship groups and noted the necessity of expanding cooperation between the profile committees of the parliaments and further developing mutual activities within the framework of international parliamentary organizations.
Touching upon the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Speaker of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova also highly appreciated Slovakia’s contribution to the restoration process in Karabakh.
The President of Slovakia expressed his pleasure with his official visit to Azerbaijan and being at the Milli Majlis. Peter Pellegrini noted that after his visit to Azerbaijan in 2018 as the Prime Minister of Slovakia, the government he led decided to open an embassy in Azerbaijan. He stated that this step was an expression of the importance attached to the development of relations between Slovakia and Azerbaijan. President Peter Pellegrini emphasized that today the friendly relations and political dialogue between our countries are at a high level, and stated that his country is interested in further expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan in various fields. Noting that starting his official visit, carried out at the invitation of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, from the city of Shusha holds special symbolic meaning, President Peter Pellegrini said that being the first head of state to pay an official visit to Shusha as the President of an EU member state is a special source of pride for him. He expressed his confidence that the meetings and discussions held in Shusha, as well as the agreements reached, will make a significant contribution to the future development of relations between our countries.
The high-ranking guest shared his positive impressions of the large-scale restoration and reconstruction work being carried out in Karabakh, evaluating the contribution of Slovak companies to this process and the projects they are implementing as a clear example of successful cooperation between our countries. Calling the naming of the secondary school to be built in Aghdam after a prominent Slovak figure a proud event, President Peter Pellegrini stated that this is another manifestation of friendship and mutual respect between Slovakia and Azerbaijan.
Recalling with pleasure the meetings he had with the Speaker of the Milli Majlis at various times during the conversation, the high-ranking guest touched upon the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation and noted the necessity of further developing ties between the relevant committees of the parliaments. In the end, he invited the Speaker of the Milli Majlis to pay an official visit to Slovakia again.
During the meeting, an exchange of views also took place on other issues of mutual interest.