Baku, Azerbaijan, May 7
Trend:
Since the early 90s, sport as a fundamental value and activity has integrated into the UN system and in the work of its specialized organizations, Hikmet Hajiyev, the head of the Azerbaijani foreign ministry's press service, told Trend May 7.
Reflecting on a resolution called "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal", that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993, Hajiyev said, through sport the Olympic ideal affects the development of humanity, mutual understanding, peace and development.
Azerbaijan by hosting the First European Games, is making through this prestigious sporting event its major contribution to peace, sustainable development, mutual understanding, dialogue among cultures and civilizations, and the elimination of disagreements, as it is enshrined in the Olympic Charter and the resolutions of the UN General Assembly, he said.
"The European Games, as a brand embodying Azerbaijan on an international level, also support the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, set by the UN, at the national, regional and continental levels," Hajiyev said.
He also noted that Azerbaijan has proved its commitment to the goals, intentions and fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter with successful sports policy pursued at the national, regional and international levels.
Hajiyev said that the resolution adopted unanimously by the world states in 2014 within the framework of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly stressed the importance of the European Games in Baku, but the activity of some NGOs is a lack of respect for the opinion of the world community.
"While the European Games in Baku serve to universal good intentions, the activity of such destructive forces gives grounds to say that in fact they are not interested in strengthening the intercultural and interreligious dialogue and multiculturalism, in eliminating racial strife, radical tendencies and Islamophobia, which is a serious problem in Europe," the head of the press service said..
"Political jealousy is a major factor which must be taken into account here. It must be recognized that not every state is able to host such an event as the Baku European Games, which are equal to the Olympic Games by their scale not only because of the presence of sports facilities, but also in terms of overall development, the availability of international transport infrastructure and infrastructure in the country and other necessary conditions."
Azerbaijan has, in a very short period of time, proved that the country is able to hold this important event at the continental level and "circles, that conduct activities against the European Games, are well aware that after this prestigious event, Azerbaijan, continuing the strategy of successful development, will enter into a completely new phase in terms of political image and weight," Hajiyev said.
Baku 2015 is the first-ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent that will take place on June 12-28, 2015.
There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition.
Baku was awarded the games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012.
Edited by CN