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“It is a great historic event and honor for Azerbaijan that Baku was declared the Islamic Culture Capital in 2009”, said President Ilham Aliyev in his address to the solemn opening ceremony of the Cultural Year “Baku – Islamic Culture Capital 2009” in the Heydar Aliyev Palace in Baku on Wednesday, APA reports.
The head of state expressed confidence in the success and positive role of the opening ceremony and following events in the further improvement of the Islamic Culture. “Baku was declared the Islamic Culture Capital at the meeting of the ministers of culture of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Both OIC and ISESCO played a great role in this process. Number of events is held in Azerbaijan under the aegis of ISESCO. Azerbaijan is a young country. We are independent for 17 years. Therefore we are making all efforts to contribute to the unity and solidarity of the Islamic countries. Number of events following this goal takes place in Azerbaijan”.
Head of State stressed that Azerbaijan played an active role in OIC and noted that there was need for close relations of Islamic World.
“We should support each other and make close economic and political cooperation. We should propose our economical potentials to each other. Islamic countries should do mutual business with each other. Especially, solidarity and union of Islamic countries in UN are of great importance. Our join initiatives were successful in several cases. These Initiatives aimed to ensure security, tranquility in the world, prevent wars and strengthen cross-civilizations dialogue. There are many reports on cross-civilizations dialogue, but there should be many measures on it. Azerbaijan increases its role in these issues gradually. We will continue making efforts to strengthen Islamic solidarity. Islam is the religion of brotherhood and tolerance. Our sacred religion should be presented to the world properly. Islamic world has rich historical heritage and culture. This culture should also be presented to the world community properly.
Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan had ancient history and culture and added that our historical monuments proved it.
“We are building a modern state on strong basis. I can proudly say that Azerbaijan is a fully independent state. All our efforts aim at increasing Azerbaijan’s role in the region, strengthening its positions in the world and making our country a reliable partner. Azerbaijan is known as a reliable partner in the world. All our steps aim at friendship and cooperation. Azerbaijan’s economy grew rapidly in the past five years. We look into the future of Azerbaijan with great hopes,” he said.
Addressing the opening ceremony, ISESCO Secretary-General Abdulaziz bin Osman Al Twaijri spoke about the importance of the event and underlined that holding it in Azerbaijan was a great event.
Following this, emblem of Culture Year “Baku – the Capital of Islamic Culture – 2009” was presented to Azerbaijani President. The opening ceremony continued with concert.
