Azerbaijan, ICESCO to expand partnership

The delegation headed by the Azerbaijan Culture Minister Adil Karimli is on a visit to Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, at the invitation of the Director General of the Islamic World Science, Education and Culture Organization (ICESCO).

A meeting was held between the delegation led by Adil Karimli and the ICESCCO General Director Salim bin Mohammed Al-Malik, Azernews reports.

The Azerbaijani Ambassador to Morocco, Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to ICESCO Nazim Samadov also participated in the meeting.

Speaking at the meeting, ICESCO General Director Salim bin Mohammed Al-Malik expressed his satisfaction with the services of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who provided great and invaluable support for the success of the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the organization.

He emphasized that this cooperation can be a successful model for many countries, and informed about the main strategic directions of the organization, currently implemented initiatives, programs and projects. He stressed that development of innovation, education systems, as well as strengthening the values of coexistence and civil dialogue is one of the priority directions.

The Culture Minister Adil Karimli noted that ICESCO is a strategic partner of Azerbaijan in the fields of education, science and culture, and the relations between the two sides are greatly supported by President Ilham Aliyev and the First Lady, ICESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva.

He pointed out that ICESCO is the main partner in the Intercultural Dialogue Forum and outlined the importance of continuing the cooperation within the framework of the Forum planned for May next year.

The sides discussed cooperation between Azerbaian and ICESCO in various fields, including the opening of the ICESCO Regional Office in Baku, the declaration of the city of Shusha as the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World for 2024, the deepening of cooperation within the framework of the Baku Process in which ICESCO is a partner as well asthe inclusion of Azerbaijan’s cultural sites in the Islamic World Heritage List.

After the meeting, Salim M. AlMalik introduced the delegation headed by the Culture Minister Adil Karimlini to the newly created Way of the Prophet Museum at the ICESCO headquarters.

The museum displays valuable exhibits and historical books devoted to the life, family, and lifestyle of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as the cities of Mecca and Medina in visual and digital form.

Notably, Azerbaijan has been a member of ICESCO since 1991. Established in 1991, these relations have entered into a stage of successful development after the awarding of the First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva as ICESCO Goodwill Ambassador on November 24, 2006. The First Lady of Azerbaijan was honored for her services in the development of education and dialogue between civilizations.

Azerbaijan is closely cooperating with various organizations of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Islamic Development Bank, Islamic Conference of Parliamentary Union, Islamic Conference of Youth Forum.