Details added (first version posted on 11:16)
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 16
Trend:
Every international forum is important, and future impact on the decision-making in the world depends on the discussed topics, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
He made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 5th Global Baku Forum titled “The Future of International Relations: Power and Interests”, which kicked off in Baku March 16.
The president said that holding of this forum has already become traditional, and this is not the first time Azerbaijan holds it. He welcomed all the participants, who represent more than fifty countries at the forum, and more than two hundred sixty guests.
"Azerbaijan, as an independent country, is relatively new. Last year we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of restoration of our independence. Our activity, projects that we initiate in our country, have positive impact on the whole region is one of the ways to present our country to the world," the president said.
Azerbaijani president went on to say that since the last Baku Global Forum meeting, the world didn't become safer.
"We still have protracted conflicts, still have confrontations, wars in our region. This of course is a very dangerous tendency. Azerbaijan in its region is playing an important role as a stabilizing factor. Our initiatives aim at regional cooperation, predictability and strengthening of security measures in the region," said Ilham Aliyev.
The president went on to add that Azerbaijan is not an island, and close neighborhood is of great concern to the country. He said there are still challenges, wars, conflicts, the migrant crisis, and it is a big humanitarian catastrophe.
"At the same time, the migrant crisis also leads to, I would say, less understanding between different parts of our world. It creates certain discomfort for the people of the countries where the migrants are heading. But, this is only the consequence of what happened, because the real reason of this crisis is external political and military interference into internal affairs of these countries," he said.
The president went on to say that the migrant crisis wasn't happening five or ten years ago, it happened recently.
"So this is the consequence of, I'd say, not a very thoughtful policy towards the countries of the Middle East. And this, in turn, leads to radicalization of societies of the countries where the migrants are heading," said Ilham Aliyev.
He went on to say that unfortunately, the most attractive slogans in election campaigns are slogans very close to nationalism and anti-migrant sentiment.
"We witnessed it during last months, years. And this is the tendency. I think one of the most important issues on global agenda is to reverse this tendency backwards. More to cooperation, mutual understanding, mutual respect, rather than alienation, political confrontation and lack of dialogue of civilizations," Azerbaijan's president said.
The president said Azerbaijan is a country, which geography, to certain degree, predetermines its role in the region.
"We are investing in the dialogue of civilizations and cultures. Azerbaijan itself suffers from war, occupation, humanitarian catastrophe, as a result of Armenian aggression and occupation of its territory," Ilham Aliyev said.
"This occupation lasts for more than 20 years, and twenty percent of internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and seven districts surrounding it, are under Armenian occupation. All the infrastructure [there has been] destroyed, all our historical, religious monuments destroyed. OSCE fact-finding mission sent delegations and groups of observers to the occupied territories, and their report clearly shows that all the buildings and historical heritage of Azerbaijan have been destroyed," he said.
"This conflict is the result of Armenian aggression against its neighbor. It is the result of separatism and war against Azerbaijan. A million of Azerbaijanis suffered from that - they became refugees and internally displaced persons. This figure is one of the highest per capita in the world. Today's population of Azerbaijan is close to ten million. When the conflict started, it was eight million. So, one million of eight million in the beginning of 1990s became homeless," President Aliyev said.