Details added (first version posted on 11:01)
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 6
Trend:
Azerbaijan always supports religious and ethnic diversity, development of an inclusive society, said Ali Hasanov, Azerbaijani president’s aide for public and political affairs.
He made the remarks May 6 in Baku at the panel session of the 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, titled “Inclusive dialogue in polarization period.”
Complex and contradictory processes are observed at the present stage of the development of international relations, and these processes change the geopolitical picture of the world, Ali Hasanov said.
“The tendencies of the formation of a multipolar system increase the importance of an inclusive dialogue that has an important impact on the deepening of relations between civilizations and cultures,” he added.
The observations show that issues related to regional and international security are not only of military and political nature, but at the same time cover socio-economic and intercultural relations, he noted.
At the same time, inclusive dialogue is also important for the peoples to live in peace and prosperity, but, unfortunately, today there are approaches that don’t allow to objectively assess the dialogue’s essence, he said.
Ali Hasanov added that Azerbaijan, located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, highly assesses the role of inclusive dialogue for ensuring of civilized peaceful coexistence and pursues an active policy in this direction.
He noted with regret that the religious, racial and national intolerance, as well as separatism, existing today in the world, lead people becoming refugees and migrants.
Azerbaijan, which suffered from Armenia’s policy of ethnic cleansing and occupation, as a result of which over a million of Azerbaijani citizens became refugees and IDPs, is well aware of difficulties related to this problem, Ali Hasanov said.
Therefore, ensuring the return of these refugees and IDPs to their native land should become the main part of the inclusive dialogue, he added.
The 4th World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, titled “Advancing Intercultural Dialogue – New avenues for human security, peace and sustainable development” kicked off in Baku on May 4.
The forum will last until May 6, and it aims at further promoting and sustaining understanding and dialogue within and between cultures.
The forum is organized in cooperation with UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the UN World Tourism Organization (WTO), the Council of Europe, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the North-South Center of the Council of Europe.
Its agenda includes topics such as the role of faith, religions, migration, human security, sport, education, art, sustainable development, preventing violent extremism, business in building trust and cooperation among cultures and civilizations.