UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova met with members of the Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO in Baku on Thursday, AzerTAj State News Agency reported.
Committee Chairman, Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov, on behalf of participants of the meeting congratulated the Director General of UNESCO, on her election to this high post and wished her success in the work.
Speaking about the importance of projects implemented in Azerbaijan in cooperation with UNESCO, Mammadyarov stressed the merits of Azerbaijan's First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO and ISESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva in development of cooperation between this authoritative organization, and Azerbaijan.
It was noted that due to this successful collaboration was taken a number of important projects in the field of cultural heritage.
Member of the Commission, the Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev said that the visit of Director General of UNESCO in this country will give new impetus to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and the organization. The Minister said that in April next year Baku to host high-level forum on intercultural dialogue. UNESCO also supports the holding of this forum.
Stressing that Azerbaijan was elected a member of the UNESCO Committee on immaterial heritage, Garayev said that it opens a new stage of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the organization.
Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Huseyngulu Bagirov, Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov, chairman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Hijran Huseynova, vice president of the National Academy of Sciences Naila Velikhanli, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection Ilgar Rahimov spoke about the various areas of cooperation of the structures which they represent with UNESCO.
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, stressing that Azerbaijan is an example of intercultural dialogue, said that Azerbaijan has declared the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage one of the main priorities.
Expressing satisfaction with the close cooperation of Azerbaijan with all the organs and bodies of UNESCO, Bokova commended efforts made by official Baku to include samples of cultural heritage in the UNESCO list, recalled that the country has commended to many conventions of the organization.
Praising the cooperation between the country and the organization, Bokova stressed the merits of Azerbaijan's First Lady, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO and ISESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva in the promotion and development of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan.
The meeting was attended by Head of the foreign relations department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Novruz Mammadov, head of the Permanent Mission of Azerbaijan to UNESCO, Ambassador Eleonora Huseynova, first secretary of the Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO Gunay Efendieva and others.