Kamran F. Bayramov, Deputy of Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan) at the recently hosted 140th Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Doha. Pic: Salim Matramkot / The Peninsula
Doha: Kamran F. Bayramov, Deputy of Milli Majlis (Parliament of Azerbaijan) and Member of Regional Affairs Committee, has said that Qatar-Azerbaijan ties are strengthening with the passage of time on solid grounds of bilateral pacts.
He said that Qatar-Azerbaijan relations were continuously growing since both countries established diplomatic ties in 1994. “Both the nations always enjoyed excellent ties.”
Talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of recently hosted 140th Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Doha, the parliamentarian said that high-level bilateral visits had enhanced cooperation between the two states.
He said that both the countries had signed a number of bilateral agreements which provided a solid base to expand bilateral ties. “We have agreements on youth and sports; culture; civil aviation etc. and these agreements show the level of cooperation between the two countries,” he added.
Bayramov said that the visit of Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Azerbaijan in 2016 was very important that gave a significant boost to bilateral ties.
“Now both the countries have the Qatar-Azerbaijan Joint Intergovernmental Trade-Economic and Technical Committee that shows both countries’ joint commitment to developing bilateral relations.”
To a question about potential areas to bolster future bilateral cooperation, he said that after the formation of the joint committee, Azerbaijan and Qatar had another strong base for deepening and enhancing relations in any field.
“Our perspectives are clear and we have the resources and areas to deepen existing ties and expand bilateral cooperation in different sectors.”
He said that the past meetings of the joint committee had been very successful in which many issues were discussed and a number of areas of mutual cooperation were identified.
He said that there existed a lot of potential for expanding cooperation in agriculture, tourism, infrastructure development sectors. “There is also huge potential for bilateral investments as well both the countries can enhance cooperation in the oil and gas sector.”
He said that Doha and Baku were connected with directed flights, therefore, tourism could be further promoted by increasing the frequency of direct flights. “Both Azerbaijan and Qatar are becoming favourite destination for tourists, therefore, more flights needed to facilitate tourists from both sides.”
Regarding Qatar’s hosting of 140th Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), he said that it reflected the important role of Qatar in the international arena.
“I express Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation’s gratitude to the government of Qatar and the Shura Council for hosting and organizing such a successful Assembly. It also shows Qatar’s position as a reliable partner of international organisations.”
He said that the theme of 140th Assembly was also very important that would help parliamentarians to addresses the challenges being faced by the world. He said that parliamentarians from different countries also had a chance to learn from the experiences of Qatar in the field of education.
He said that his meetings with the members of Qatar’s Shura Council were very productive. He said Qatar-Azerbaijan inter-parliamentary friendship group was very active and working to promote parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.
