Baku Process’s 5th anniversary marked in London
By Sara Rajabova
An event marking the 5th anniversary of the Baku Process, which also featured a session of the Working Group of the 3rd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, was held in London.
The event was attended by top-ranked officials of UNESCO, UN Alliance of Civilization, North-South Centre of the Council of Europe, ISESCO, UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Arab League and Center for Peace and Reconciliation Studies at Coventry University, as well as British MPs, politicians and scholars.
Addressing the event, Azerbaijani Ambassador in London Fakhraddin Gurbanov said Azerbaijan had played an outstanding role in encouraging and promoting dialogue among world nations in the past few years.
He said Azerbaijan was the only country to be a member of both the Council of Europe and ISESCO. "Azerbaijan has strong friendly and cooperative ties with both Islamic states and Western countries. Azerbaijan is a tolerant country where people of different ethnical and religious backgrounds have historically lived in friendship and brotherhood," Gurbanov said.
Azerbaijani Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfas Garayev, for his part, provided an insight into the history of the Baku Process.
"The Baku Process was launched in Baku in December of 2008 at a conference of culture ministers from European and neighboring countries. The conference saw the launch of a new format as for the first time it was attended by 10 Islamic countries. At the conference, which was attended by top-ranked officials from 48 countries, 8 international organizations and several non-governmental organizations, Azerbaijan initiated the signing of the Baku Declaration for the Promotion of Intercultural Dialogue, which gave birth to the Baku Process.
"With the aim of ensuring a continuation of the Baku Process Azerbaijan invited 10 European countries to the 6th conference of Islamic culture ministers that took place in Baku in 2009," he noted.
Other speakers included Jean-Christophe Bas, Senior Advisor for Strategic Development and Partnerships at the United Nations Secretariat of the Alliance of Civilizations, Katerina Stenou, Manager and Coordinator at UNESCO Unit for the Intersectoral Platform on Culture of Peace, Amr Abdel Gaffar, UNWTO Regional Director for the Middle East, and Ahmad Al-Dubayan, Director General of the Islamic Cultural Centre in London.
The event featured the screening of a film about Azerbaijan.