Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan's northern city of Gabala hosted a solemn opening ceremony of the Cultural Capitals of the Commonwealth of Independent States intergovernmental program and a certificate presentation ceremony on June 29.

Gabala, situated 225 kilometers from the capital Baku, was declared the cultural capital of the CIS for 2013 at a meeting of the CIS Council for Cultural Cooperation and the CIS Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation in Ashgabat on October 15-17, 2012.

The Azerbaijani city recently became the venue for holding major cultural events. The third Gabala International Art Exhibition was held there in May.

Opening the Gabala ceremony, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, chairman of the Board of the CIS humanitarian cooperation fund, Polad Bulbuloglu, said that the event brought together officials from more than 10 countries.

Bulbuloglu highlighted the establishment and activities of the interstate fund. The fund gives an impetus to expanding humanitarian cooperation in the CIS area.

He said Gabala was hosting international cultural events and stressed that "this ancient Azerbaijani city has become an international cultural center of classical music".

Bulbuloglu hailed the attention to developing culture and art in the country paid by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO and ISESCO goodwill ambassador, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

Various cultural events will be held in Gabala until the end of the year.

Tajikistan's First Deputy Minister of Culture Mirali Dostiev, an expert at the presidential administration of Kyrgyzstan, Zairbek Ergeshov, and chairman of the National Cultural Center "Moldova-Concert" at the Ministry of Culture of Moldova, Valentin Goga, hailed the event as excellently organized.

Belarusian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Nikolai Paskevich and head of the Russian Ministry of Culture department for work with the CIS countries, Anton Nazarov, extended their sincere congratulations to the people of Azerbaijan over the announcement of Gabala as the CIS cultural capital.

Paskevich said he has witnessed rapid development of Gabala and stressed that the development of regions indicates the development of Azerbaijan as a whole.

He said it is impossible not to enjoy the successes of Azerbaijan and that the people attached great importance to the preservation of its rich culture.

Deputy chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Toktasin Buzubayev read out a congratulatory letter of the Committee's chairman Sergei Lebedev. The letter said the granting of the mentioned title to Gabala is not accidental. The beauty of art and the beauty of nature converge here.

Buzubayev noted that the ongoing cultural events in Gabala contribute to the cultural heritage of the CIS and the world.