PAP President Fateh Boutbig, Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Discuss Stronger Africa Relations

PAP President Dr. Fateh Boutbig and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov have discussed parliamentary diplomacy, African cooperation and UN reform.

The President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), H.E. Dr. Fateh Boutbig, has held talks with Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Jeyhun Bayramov, as part of efforts to strengthen parliamentary, diplomatic and institutional cooperation between Africa and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Dr. Boutbig and his delegation were received at the headquarters of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the PAP President’s official visit to Baku.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss prospects for deeper cooperation between the Pan-African Parliament and Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis, as well as broader relations between Azerbaijan and African countries.

Their discussions covered parliamentary diplomacy, peace and stability, sustainable development, multilateral cooperation and the need for stronger engagement between African and Azerbaijani institutions.

The meeting also brought Africa’s longstanding demand for meaningful representation on the United Nations Security Council into the discussions, with Dr. Boutbig calling for comprehensive reform of the international system.

Strengthening relations between Africa and Azerbaijan

Dr. Boutbig and Minister Bayramov commended the growing relations between Azerbaijan and several African states, while giving particular recognition to the longstanding ties between Azerbaijan and Algeria.

Dr. Boutbig, who was elected President of the Pan-African Parliament in April 2026, is an Algerian parliamentarian. His leadership of the delegation therefore brings both continental and national experience to the effort to deepen relations between Africa and Azerbaijan.

The discussions reflected an interest in moving beyond bilateral contacts with individual African states towards more structured engagement with continental institutions.

As the parliamentary organ of the African Union, the Pan-African Parliament provides Azerbaijan with a platform for engaging parliamentarians representing AU member states and for developing institutional relationships capable of extending across the continent.

Cooperation between the PAP and the Milli Majlis could support exchanges among parliamentarians, committees and parliamentary officials while opening opportunities for dialogue on development, peace, international cooperation and shared global challenges.

Azerbaijan shares its development experience

During the meeting, Minister Bayramov outlined Azerbaijan’s development efforts and its experience as a relatively young independent state that has confronted conflict and extensive destruction along its borders.

He reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s commitment to peace, stability and development as foundations for improving the well-being and prosperity of its people.

Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Its subsequent experience of state-building, economic development and conflict has continued to shape its foreign-policy priorities and international engagements.

For African states, many of which are also confronting the interconnected challenges of conflict, reconstruction, institution-building and sustainable development, such experiences could provide areas for dialogue and comparative learning.

The engagement could consequently create opportunities for exchanges on post-conflict recovery, infrastructure, public-sector development, education, technology, energy and the role of national institutions in supporting economic transformation.

Any expansion of cooperation would, however, need to be guided by clearly identified African priorities and translated into practical programmes capable of delivering measurable benefits.

Parliamentary diplomacy complements traditional diplomacy

Dr. Boutbig expressed appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality extended to the PAP delegation.

He explained that the developing relationship between the Pan-African Parliament and Azerbaijan forms part of parliamentary diplomacy, which complements traditional diplomatic engagement and contributes to peace, stability and comprehensive development.

Traditional diplomacy is conducted primarily through governments, foreign ministries and diplomatic missions. Parliamentary diplomacy broadens that process by enabling lawmakers and parliamentary institutions to establish additional channels for dialogue.

Through such engagements, parliamentarians can exchange legislative experience, promote mutual understanding, support peaceful relations and advocate common positions within international forums.

Parliaments also exercise lawmaking, representation and oversight responsibilities. Their participation can therefore help connect international agreements and diplomatic commitments with domestic legislation, budgetary decisions and public accountability.

For the Pan-African Parliament, parliamentary diplomacy provides an instrument for communicating Africa’s priorities internationally and building alliances around the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

PAP and NAM Parliamentary Network formalize cooperation

The meeting with Minister Bayramov took place against the background of expanding institutional relations between the Pan-African Parliament and parliamentary bodies connected with Azerbaijan.

During the Baku visit, Dr. Boutbig and H.E. Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Speaker of the Milli Majlis and Chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the PAP and the Network.

The agreement establishes a framework for regular dialogue, meetings between the institutions’ leadership, cooperation among relevant committees, exchanges of delegations and expertise, and greater coordination within international parliamentary forums.

The two institutions are also expected to develop a joint action plan setting out priority areas for implementation and arrangements for reviewing progress.

Taken together, the agreement and the meeting at the Foreign Ministry demonstrate an effort to connect parliament-to-parliament relations with wider diplomatic engagement between Azerbaijan and Africa.

This combination could help ensure that the developing relationship is supported at both parliamentary and governmental levels.

Boutbig calls for UN Security Council reform

A major issue raised by Dr. Boutbig was Africa’s longstanding aspiration for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council.

He emphasized that the international community’s most pressing challenges require sustained communication, cooperation and dialogue among states and parliamentary institutions.

However, the credibility of multilateralism also depends on whether international institutions reflect contemporary global realities and provide equitable representation to all regions.

Africa, despite accounting for more than a quarter of UN member states and frequently occupying a substantial part of the Security Council’s peace and security agenda, has no permanent seat on the Council.

The African Union’s Common African Position on UN reform, expressed through the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration, demands at least two permanent seats with all the privileges of permanent membership, including the veto for as long as it exists and five non-permanent seats for Africa.

Although there has been growing international acknowledgement that Africa is unfairly underrepresented, agreement has not yet been reached on comprehensive reform of the Council. The existing body retains five permanent members: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China alongside ten elected non-permanent members serving two-year terms.

Dr. Boutbig’s intervention places the Pan-African Parliament within the wider continental campaign to correct what African leaders have consistently described as a historical injustice.

It also highlights a role for parliamentary diplomacy in building international support for the Common African Position.

Building coalitions for Africa’s global priorities

Engagement with Azerbaijan could help broaden the coalition of states and parliamentary institutions supporting more inclusive global governance.

Azerbaijan occupies a distinctive position in international affairs through its engagements with Europe, Asia, the Islamic world and the Non-Aligned Movement. Its parliamentary institutions can consequently provide useful channels for Africa to advance dialogue with countries across different geopolitical regions.

For the Pan-African Parliament, international partnerships should be used to articulate and promote common African positions on issues such as UN reform, sustainable-development financing, climate justice, peace and security, trade and reform of the wider multilateral system.

Parliamentarians can also encourage their governments to support these priorities during negotiations and voting within international institutions.

This gives parliamentary diplomacy a practical dimension: it can help convert political dialogue into wider diplomatic support, national policy commitments and coordinated action in multilateral forums.

From diplomatic engagement to practical cooperation

Dr. Boutbig reaffirmed the Pan-African Parliament’s commitment to deepening cooperation with Azerbaijan in pursuit of shared priorities, including peace, sustainable development, multilateralism and international cooperation.

The visit has already produced a formal cooperation framework between the PAP and the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network. The next challenge will be to convert the goodwill expressed in Baku into sustained institutional action.

Possible areas for follow-up include regular consultations, committee-level exchanges, collaboration among parliamentary officials, capacity-building programmes and joint participation in international parliamentary forums.

The relationship could also provide a platform for discussing practical cooperation between Azerbaijan and African countries in areas where mutual interests exist.

For such engagement to have lasting value, the institutions involved will need to identify concrete priorities, establish implementation timelines and regularly assess the results achieved.

Dr. Boutbig’s meeting with Minister Bayramov nevertheless represents an important step in expanding the Pan-African Parliament’s external relations.

It demonstrates how parliamentary diplomacy can operate alongside conventional diplomacy to build institutional bridges, promote Africa’s international priorities and strengthen cooperation between regions facing shared challenges.

As the Seventh Legislature seeks to enhance the PAP’s international profile, the Baku engagement provides another opportunity for the continental Parliament to advance Africa’s interests and contribute to the campaign for a more representative, equitable and effective multilateral system.