Azernews.Az

By Nazrin Gadimova

Peace and freedom face serious challenges today.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev made this statement at the 4th Global Baku Forum that is underway in Baku.

“We witness the worst security situations since the Second World War,” he said.

Plevneliev further emphasized the importance of the issue of national borders and the principles of international law.

“We witness much more complicated international systems where world and international institutions and powers are not available to prevent and solve conflicts in a sustainable way. We in Europe understand what happens in Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. This directly affects our lives,” he added.

"The world is out of balance today, and a new balance has to be found," the Bulgarian president concluded.

The two-day forum titled “Towards a Multipolar World” started its work on March 10 and brought together seven incumbent presidents, 27 former presidents, one vice-president, 23 former prime ministers, a lot of incumbent and former officials, heads of authoritative international organizations, famous politicians and experts.

The IV Global Baku Forum is a great initiative to bring together the international community, share expertise and build consensus on how best to respond to the major challenges facing the world today, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in his letter sent to the Forum participants.

“Over the last 24 years the UK and Azerbaijan have established close friendly and mutually beneficial relations on a broad range of issues,” he said. “In addition to a long standing energy ties and flourishing trade relationship we worked together closely on security issues. We hope to continue to deepen and strengthen our cooperation in all of these areas and all of these global challenges require global responses,” the congratulatory letter reads.

Intercultural dialogue has never been so vital, than in this time of turbulence, a message by UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova read March 10 at the opening session of the IV Global Baku Forum titled “Towards a Multipolar World”.

“I would like to thank President Aliyev for his long commitment to promoting cultural dialogue,” the message read. “We see this involved in the Baku process launched in 2011.”

“Opportunities are vast for exchange but a need for dialogue has never been so high,” read the message. “Today, as never, we must strengthen the values that humanity holds in common, and recognize the destiny we all share.”

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, who addressed the event, also believes that the IV Global Baku Forum is a very important forum.

“I strongly believe that the values and the issues that we discussed here should be discussed exactly in the spirit of great poets, like Nizami Ganjavi,” he said.

“This is the spirit and the environment that we have to establish and we have to improve and have to increase in our countries and the world around us,” he said.

The world faces more than ever the need for a dialogue, understanding and cooperation in order to face and overcome the common challenges and threats, Albanian President Bujar Nishani said in Baku March 10.

“Therefore I appreciate the holding and organizing this forum,” he said. “I would like to express gratitude for the warm and friendly hospitality that is being offered to us by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.”

He said that the topics of the forum are being elaborated and discussed in a timely manner and at the crucial moment for regional and global developments.

Addressing the event, Latvia’s former president Vaira Vike-Freiberga said the world is changing demanding to find new original and creative ways of applying the difficulties of today and Baku seems an appropriate place to do this.

Viktor Zubkov, Chair of the Russian Gazprom’s Board of Directors and the former prime minister of Russia said it is necessary to increase the efficiency of the international organizations’ activity in the settlement of conflicts in the world.

He made the statement in the interview in the sidelines of the forum.

“Of course, this should be done at such forums as the Global Baku Forum,” Zubkov said, adding that experts must work out specific suggestions by further submitting them to the international organizations.

He further highlighted the good organizing level and compositions of the delegations taking part in the Global Baku Forum.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said that the Global Baku Forum is a very good opportunity to create a dialogue between nations and peoples.

Trudeau made the remark in a video message at the opening session of the forum.

International cooperation certainly needs to be promoted, Trudeau added.

Seven incumbent presidents, 27 former presidents, one vice-president, 23 former prime ministers, a lot of incumbent and former officials, heads of authoritative international organizations, famous politicians and experts take part in the forum.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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