Pere Joan Pons addresses the ANAMA conference on 2 September 2026BAKU, 3 September 2026 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Pere Joan Pons (Spain) has been in Baku this week for a visit that combines participation in the 4th International Mine Action Conference with high-level bilateral meetings aimed at strengthening co-operation between the OSCE PA and Azerbaijan.
Accompanied by OSCE PA Vice-President and Special Representative on South Caucasus Luis Graça (Portugal), President Pons is taking part in the conference “Humanitarian Demining for Urban Recovery: Setting Standards of Excellence for Safe Settlements,” organized with Azerbaijan’s National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA). On 2 September he moderated a panel on international co-operation and donor mechanisms to support safe recovery through mine action.
The programme also includes meetings with President Ilham Aliyev, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, senior parliamentarians including the Chair of the Milli Majlis Foreign Relations Committee and the Head of Azerbaijan’s OSCE PA Delegation, as well as the Secretary General of TURKPA. The visit coincides with Azerbaijan’s “Peace Month.”
“This is my first visit to Azerbaijan as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and I am pleased that it brings together political dialogue and a very practical humanitarian priority,” President Pons said. “The progress achieved in the peace process with Armenia has created an opportunity that should not be lost. International co-operation is indispensable, and the OSCE PA stands ready to help keep humanitarian mine action higher on the parliamentary agenda.”
President Pons noted in particular the important work being done on demining, which he said is not simply a technical issue but essential to promote civilian safety, the return of displaced people, reconstruction and livelihoods.
Luís Graça and Pere Joan Pons with Samad Seyidov, Chair of the Committee on Foreign and Interparliamentary Relations of the Milli Majlis, and Head of Azerbaijan's OSCE PA Delegation Gaya Mammadov in Baku, 3 September 2026Vice-President Graça expressed appreciation for Azerbaijan’s long-standing engagement in the Assembly. “In a period when other parliamentary channels have become strained, the OSCE PA remains a platform where dialogue continues,” Graça said.
The OSCE PA leaders underlined that the Assembly will continue to promote engagement based on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and the principles of the OSCE, while encouraging the translation of political agreements into tangible benefits for people across the South Caucasus.
For more information on the OSCE PA’s work in the South Caucasus, please visit the Special Representative’s web page here.
