The commemorative event dedicated to the life and work of the Azerbaijani poet and philosopher born 880 years ago, Nizami Ganjavi was organized with the participation of H. E. Sahiba Gafarova, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. On this occasion, the high-ranking Azerbaijani politician, paying an official visit to Budapest, also made remarks, briefly evaluating the friendly relations and cooperation between our two countries.
As one of the legs of her busy official program, Sahiba Gafarova visited the residence of the Representation Office of the Turkic Council in Budakeszi út in Budapest where the large number of guests attending the event commemorated Nizami Ganjavi, the poet who is highly respected in Azerbaijan and the Turkic world. The Speaker of the National Assembly in Baku was greeted by Ambassador János Hóvári. The Executive Head of the Representation Office of the Turkic Council in Budapest underlined that as an observer, Hungary has been taking part in the work of the Turkic Council since September 2018. During the past three years a highly intensive system of relations has evolved between Hungary and the Turkic nations. The Representation Office in Budapest is playing a significant role in enabling the countries of the Turkic world to widen their relations with the member states of the European Union and the countries of the Visegrad Group.
András Baranyi, the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade also made remarks. He pointed out that Hungary and Azerbaijan are strategic partners, a family that has close historical and cultural ties. The bilateral relations of the two countries are excellent while – thanks to our cooperation in the framework of the Turkic Council – there has been great progress in the field of multilateral cooperation as well.
Speaker Sahiba Gafarova emphasized the traditionally good relations between Azerbaijan and Hungary. She highly appreciated the role that Hungary is playing as an observer in the work of the Turkic Council. She called the Representation Office in Budapest an important element in the cooperation of the Turkic nations. The Speaker voiced her delight that the teaching of the Hungarian language has been started in Baku, and expressed her hope that a lecturer from Azerbaijan may soon be posted to the Department of Turkology of the Faculty of Arts of ELTE University in Budapest. At the event, several lectures were also delivered on the lifework of Nizami Ganjavi in whose honor commemorations will be held throughout Azerbaijan.
In the framework of her official program the Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Sahiba Gafarova was received by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the Carmelite Church. The two politicians exchanged their views on the bilateral relations in the energy sector, as well as education and trade. During the meeting with the participation of Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, the sides pointed out that by increasing the production of its natural gas fields, Azerbaijan will in the future be playing an important role in providing Europe with energy. The fact that this year 900 students from Azerbaijan have applied for a scholarship in Hungary indicates that our cooperation in the field of education has also strengthened. During the talks the sides also stressed that this year the volume of trade between Hungary and Azerbaijan has increased by 88 percent, and there are further reserves in the economic cooperation of our two countries.
