Baku, Azerbaijan, May 29
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The First European Games are important not only for Azerbaijan, but also for Europe, Sevinj Hasanova, Deputy Minister of Economy and Industry of Azerbaijan told EurActiv.
"We are really proud that the First European Games will take place in Azerbaijan," she said.
"Azerbaijan is not a big country, it has some 10 million people, and we are an open economy," said Hasanova. "The external relations are very important for our country, and the European Games open another door to Europe."
They are another opportunity for Azerbaijan to be more engaged with the European countries, the deputy minister added.
"The games will be an opportunity to show more of Azerbaijan, of our beautiful country, to show what we have, who we are, our culture, and our history, to open up more," she said.
Furthermore, Hasanova said that Azerbaijan is aiming to become a tourism centre as well. "Tourism is becoming an ever larger sector of our economy."
Azerbaijan's tourism potential is increasing as does the flow of tourists into the country. As Azerbaijan's Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfas Garayev said at the Caspian Energy Forum - 2015, the country aims to increase the flow of tourists by 30-40 percent within several years. Garayev said Azerbaijan plans to be receiving some 5 million of tourists annually by 2020.
Baku 2015 is the first ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent which 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 SI
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