The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Bahar Muradova, was in Switzerland from 3 to 5 March for an official visit at the invitation of the President of the National Council, Stéphane Rossini.
Bahar Muradova has been Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan since 2005. The unicameral parliament has 125 members elected by a majority system for a five-year term. The seats in the National Assembly are primarily occupied the New Azerbaijan Party (72) and independent members (48).
During the visit the Azerbaijani delegation had talks with the President of the National Council, Stéphane Rossini; the President of the Council of States, Claude Hêche; the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council, Carlo Sommaruga; Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of States, Felix Gutzwiller, as well as with the State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Yves Rossier. One theme that was stressed during these meetings was the good state of relations between Azerbaijan and Switzerland.
Topics of discussion
Foreign policy
The Azerbaijani delegation gave a very positive assessment of the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE. Azerbaijan is severely affected by the tensions in the South Caucasus and in Ukraine. Swiss and Azerbaijani representatives consulted frequently within the framework of the OSCE, demonstrating again how good relations between the two countries are at both the bilateral and multilateral levels. The Azerbaijani delegation reserved special praise for Switzerland’s traditional commitment to promoting democracy.
Swiss-Azerbaijani relations
Both economic and diplomatic relations between the two countries have been very good for a considerable number of years. This can be seen by the visits of various representatives of Switzerland to Azerbaijan in recent years, including the most recent visit in July 2014 by Federal Councillor Evelyne Widmer-Schlumpf to the Azerbaijani Finance Minister, Samir Sharifov.
Switzerland and Azerbaijan cooperate in numerous economic sectors. In the various meetings during Ms Muradova’s visit the question was discussed of whether this cooperation should be developed further. Both sides emphasised how important good inter-parliamentary relations are and in this connection mention was made of the Switzerland-Azerbaijan Friendship Group.
Switzerland and Azerbaijan signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement in 2001. Cooperation focuses on the energy sector with Switzerland holding a 5% stake in the Trans Adriatic Pipeline project.
Lastly, Switzerland is also active in development cooperation in the South Caucasus with its strategic cooperation programme. The aim of this programme is to support countries in this region that are going through a process of economic, social and political transformation in developing their economies and creating jobs, as well as in promoting human security, good governance and the effective management of public administrations.