6Th World Forum Highlights Azerbaijan's Commitment To Global Initiatives On Multispectral Problems

Being the host of many important international events,Azerbaijan successfully managed to organise the 6th World Forum onIntercultural Dialogue in Baku, sticking to tradition. Today,Azerbaijan has already demonstrated that it has high experienceorganising such international events.

It is no coincidence that this year, Azerbaijan hosts theConference of the Parties (COP29), an international event relatedto climate issues, and plays the role of a strategic venue for manycountries to meet in Baku, the city of winds. President IlhamAliyev focused on this issue while addressing the 6th World Forumon Intercultural Dialogue.

“By unanimous decision, Azerbaijan was elected as a hostcountry, and we see our role in building bridges. Our history,geography, and interaction with European institutions, while at thesame time being geographically located between the West and East,enable us to do a lot. I think that for the successful developmentof issues related to climate change, we need not onlyfinance-finance will be, by the way, the main topic of COP 29- butalso solidarity and mutual trust,” the President said.

The sixth event of the Forum is also related to an important andsignificant event. Thus, the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue,which is an integral part of the "Baku Process" on interculturaldialogue initiated by President Ilham Aliyev in 2008, was firstheld in Baku in 2011, and subsequently organized in 2013, 2015,2017, and 2019.

The number of countries and organisations participating in theForum has significantly increased over the past period. In total,more than 10,000 participants-government officials, heads andrepresentatives of international organisations andinstitutions-attended the forums. At the same time, more than 200various events, plenary and panel discussions, and presentationswere organised as part of the forums. The discussions held as partof the five previous forums, which focused on the challenges facinghumanity, and the documents drawn up there, served as the mainreference for international organisations, and the“Baku Process”has been recognised as an important platform for interculturaldialogue.

There are other valid reasons for holding the World Forum onIntercultural Dialogue in Azerbaijan. One of them is therecognition of Azerbaijan as the centre of multiculturalism has been the homeland of peoples of various ethnic andreligious affiliations for centuries. Today, in Azerbaijan, peoplesof all religions are closely united under one flag as friends andbrothers. One of the reasons for this is the people's strong beliefin statehood.

The Patriotic War started in 2020 against the Armenianoccupation, and the joint determination of the people for the sakeof the homeland proved this. Speaking at the opening of the forum,President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan emphasised the historicity ofthis solidarity.

“Azerbaijan has been a crossroads of cultures for centuries. Ourgeographical location, positioned between East and West, has pavedthe way for this tendency.
In Azerbaijan, representatives from various ethnic groups andreligions live together like a family. They are valued citizens ofAzerbaijan and genuine patriots of our state and statehood. We muststrengthen these positive tendencies, cultural dialogue, andcultural diversity. All of this is a treasure that has come downthrough the centuries,” the president emphasised.

It should be noted that the 6th World Forum on InterculturalDialogue is not limited only to the issue of multiculturalism andthe unity of cultures. This international event, which envisagesthe discussion of different problems in the world, also brought tothe fore the daily discussion of global warming, the policy ofcolonialism that is still continued in some European countries, andother important issues.

In his address, the head of state, Ilham Aliyev, emphasised thatthe policy of colonialism continued today by countries thatconsider themselves to be the most influential in the politicalarena, especially in Europe, is inadmissible. During thechairmanship of the Azerbaijan to Non-Aligned Movement, itrepeatedly touched on this issue and called on the world communityto fight together against colonialism, the most embarrassingproblem of the 21st century.

“We speak for international law, and today, in the 21st century,we cannot afford to allow some big European countries to continuecolonising other peoples. This is absolutely unacceptable. When weraise our voice nationally, and previously as the chair of NAM,it's not because we are acting against any country. It's justbecause we defend justice and international law.

The world should not turn a blind eye to this disgustingpractice of neo-colonialism, which is leading to forcefulassimilation. Forceful assimilation of more than ten Frenchoverseas territories is absolutely unacceptable and must bestopped,” the head of state underlined.

The Forum, organised by the government of Azerbaijan, inpartnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, andCultural Organisation (UNESCO), the United Nations Alliance ofCivilisations (UNAOC), the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), andthe Islamic World Educational, Scientific, and CulturalOrganisation (ICESCO), brings together 700 distinguished guestsrepresenting more than 100 countries.

High-level officials, heads of parliament, religious leaders,scholars, journalists, and participants from diverse ethnic andcultural backgrounds came together to advance peace and globalsecurity through meaningful dialogue.

The three-day Forum will feature 4 plenary sessions and 12 paneldiscussions on topics such as education, youth, climate change,artificial intelligence, protection of cultural heritage, illegalmigration, and other areas.

The Forum participants will visit the territories of Azerbaijanliberated from the 30-year-long occupation. The Forum will alsofeature special panel sessions scheduled to be held in Shusha. Thisis also a good opportunity to provide a platform to appeal to theinternational community from the liberated territories ofAzerbaijan.

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