The latest meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan was held in Baku.
The 22nd meeting of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan has effectively taken place. The meeting was co-chaired by First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Andrey Yatskin and First Deputy Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Ahmadov.
The event is taking place in Baku as part of an official visit of the Federation Council delegation led by Valentina Matvienko to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Andrey Yatskin noted regular communication between parliamentarians of the two countries on international platforms and other venues.
According to him, trade and economic, as well as interregional cooperation is central to the agenda. “Dynamic work on the regional track is already underway with over 70 Russian constituent entities engaging in cooperation with Azerbaijan. Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko and Speaker of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova point us at achieving high quality of these relations. Extensive work is carried out as part of the annual Interregional Forum, and business missions of entrepreneurs are held regularly.”
Andrey Yatskin urged the commission members to work through new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation at the regional level.
He placed great emphasis on cooperation in logistics and emphasised the important role of the North-South International Transport Corridor (ITC). “The intergovernmental agreement, which came into force on 25 February 2025, significantly strengthened cooperation in matters of ITC expansion and operation. The Federation Council keeps infrastructure development of this transport corridor under control.”
According to the First Deputy Federation Council Speaker, climate change and environmental protection issues need to be followed closely. “In this context, the parliamentary meeting in Baku held as part of the 29th UN Conference on Climate Change attended by over 90 delegations from national parliaments came as an important event,” Andrey Yatskin said.
The First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council also spoke about the 11th Nevsky International Ecological Congress planned to be held in St Petersburg on 22–23 May 2025. “The event will bring together over 1,200 participants, including representatives of international entities, business circles, research community and public organisations, as well as heads of national line ministries and parliaments. The business programme includes 10 round table discussions and an extensive youth programme, providing, among other things, the exchange of best practices in the conservation and effective management of natural resources, as well as the discussion of practical approaches to the environmental transformation of modern metropolitan areas. The plenary session themed “Ecology of the New Reality: Challenges and Opportunities” is the key event of the congress.
This year’s agenda of bilateral cooperation focuses on the memory of common Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Andrey Yatskin emphasised. “I am grateful to the Milli Majlis deputies who support the Russian parliamentarians’ initiatives concerning, in particular, the Memory Train project,” the senator said.
First Deputy Speaker of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Ali Ahmadov praised the high level of contacts between the lawmakers. “I am confident the commission meeting will contribute to the development of inter-parliamentary relations. We have centuries-old traditions of friendship, neighbourliness, mutual respect and consideration of each other’s interests.”
In his opinion, inter-parliamentary ties have a special place in the system of relations between the two countries. “This is not a formal component, but an important mechanism that plays a role in forming an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding. Our ties are expanding and getting filled with content, thus contributing to the achievement of a whole new level of interaction between our countries.”
The commission members discussed the development and further deepening of interparliamentary cooperation. Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin pointed out that the friendly inter-parliamentary dialogue, which works like clockwork, makes an important contribution to fulfilling the goals set by the leaders of the two countries to further fortify allied cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan. “We have a good tradition of parliamentarians participating in monitoring missions. A fairly representative team of Russian parliamentarians observed the extraordinary presidential and parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan in 2024,” the senator said, noting the active interaction of parliamentarians from the two countries at various international venues.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy Zhanna Chefranova spoke on the topic of Russia-Azerbaijan cooperation in climate change and environment. According to her, Russia has exceeded its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol. “We joined the Paris Agreement and plan to become a carbon-neutral country by 2060,” the senator said, adding that Russia was concentrating its every effort to increase the absorption of greenhouse gases by natural absorbents and accumulators, and is doing a lot of work to adjust the forest management system. “We have managed to take control of many challenging areas,” she said.
When discussing prospects for expanding trade, economic and interregional cooperation, Astrakhan Region Governor Igor Babushkin spoke about the specifics of the constituent entity of the Federation’s ties with its Azerbaijani partners. “For us, Azerbaijan is the most important partner in the Caspian region. Astrakhan and Baku are united by long-standing friendly and neighbourly relations.”
According to him, cooperation relies on the Agreement on Cooperation between the Government of the Astrakhan Region and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as a new programme of measures to implement it that was signed last year. “Mutual trade drives economic ties. The Azerbaijan Business Centre in Astrakhan and the Astrakhan Centre in Baku are working to expand its volume. The centres have become the main platforms for business negotiations and holding events that are designed to expand cooperation,” Igor Babushkin said.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Ivan Abramov, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Iliyas Umakhanov, State Duma deputies Viktor Pinsky, Kazbek Taisayev, and Irina Rodnina took part in the meeting of the Commission joined by Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation Dmitry Tyotenkin and Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Murat Kerefov via videoconference.
Andrey Yatskin proposed holding the next meeting of the Commission in Moscow in the summer of 2025.