Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

The Azerbaijan Culture Ministry and the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) have discussed ways of expanding cooperation.

The virtual conference was held between First Deputy Minister of Culture, Acting Minister Anar Karimov and UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNHCR) Miguel Ángel Moratinos.

The sides discussed a number of issues, including "Baku Process" initiated by President Ilham Aliyev and the holding of the 6th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in 2021.

The Culture Minister briefed the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations on the damage caused to Azerbaijan's cultural heritage as a result of Armenia's aggression.

Karimov noted that UN Alliance of Civilizations has been a partner of the Baku Process and the World Forum for Intercultural Dialogue since 2010. He also noted that the 7th UNAOC Global Forum was held in Baku in 2016 at a high level.

Mr. Moratinos praised the cooperation with Azerbaijan in the field of intercultural and interreligious dialogue and expressed interest in implementing joint projects in this field.

Recalling the UNAOC's mandate as the body responsible for the implementation of the "Action Plan for the Protection of Religious Monuments" by the UN Secretary General, Anar Karimov noted that Azerbaijan is ready to cooperate with the organization to protect all places of worship.

The UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations stressed that the protection of religious monuments is one of the priority activities of the organization. Mr. Moratinos praised the cooperation with Azerbaijan in this field, emphasizing the importance of implementing specific projects.

In the end, it was agreed to implement initiatives and projects related to the development of intercultural and interreligious relations in the region and to present these projects at the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue 2021.

The Culture Minister also met with the Mexican Ambassador to Azerbaijan Juan Rodrigo Labardini Flores.

Anar Karimov spoke about the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. He stressed that with its rich heritage Karabakh region is known as the center of Azerbaijani culture.

The Minister highlighted the damage to Azerbaijan's cultural sites as a result of Armenian vandalism.

Noting the successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Mexico in various directions, Karimov stressed the importance of taking appropriate measures to expand this partnership.

The Mexican Ambassador, in turn, expressed satisfaction with the development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Mexico in the cultural, economic and political fields.

The meeting also touched upon the agreement between Azerbaijan and Mexico on cooperation in education, science, youth, culture and sports. The issues of implementation of joint projects were discussed as well.

The sides exchanged views on development prospects in the relevant field and other issues of mutual interest.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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