Azerbaijan’s contribution to the intercultural dialogue was discussed in UNESCO

The UNESCO headquarters held a meeting on the implementation of the project “International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures”.

Opening the meeting, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences Nada Al-Nashif noted the importance of intercultural dialogue, the contribution of Azerbaijan in this regard and highlighted the work carried out in this field during 5 years.

Ambassador Anar Karimov, the head of the Permanent Delegation of Azerbaijan to UNESCO, spoke about the role of our country in the development of intercultural dialogue. Speaking about the “Baku Process” initiated in 2008 by the President of Azerbaijan in order to promote the intercultural dialogue, the ambassador talked about the main idea of the process. He said that Azerbaijan, which has become an international platform for intercultural dialogue, will soon celebrate the 10 th anniversary of the Baku Process. Since 2011, our country hosted the Intercultural Dialogue Forum, with its international partners such as UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the International Tourism Organization, the Council of Europe and ISESCO. It was noted that the Ministers of Culture of the Council of Europe and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) met for the first time in the framework of the Baku Process. It was emphasized that UNESCO will continue to support the contribution of Azerbaijan to the implementation of the project on development of electronic resources for promoting intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding. During the last Intercultural Dialogue Forum held in Baku, it was proposed to publish, Diversity, Dialogue and Sharing, publication for the development of electronic resources in promoting intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding.

A.Karimov underlined the importance of using new paradigms and methods in promoting cultures and interfaith dialogue. Vasif Eyvazzade, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, informed the participants about the Baku Process, adding that this concept will be further developed, including human security and diversification, human factor concepts in politics and economy. He gave detailed information about the next forum.