A jubilee international conference celebrating the centenary of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev and co-arranged by the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Baku Branch of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development and Parliamentarism, and Suffrage Protection for Citizens (IIMDD) of the CIS IPA Council’s Secretariat took place in Baku on 1 June.

Director of the IIMDD Baku Branch Ramin Rzayev, the international conference’s moderator, started the proceedings by thanking Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova as well as the leadership of the CIS IPA Council and the CIS IPA Secretariat for the high standards achieved in organising the event.

Ramin Rzayev ceded the floor to Head of the International Relations Department of the Milli Majlis Ilkin Mammadov who read for the audience the welcome speech of Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova, underscoring the importance of the conference’s topic in view of the modern challenges.

Stressing the traditions of multiculturalism, an asset of our people, Speaker Gafarova tells of the work done by the Great Leader to preserve tolerance in Azerbaijan. Heydar Aliyev presumed that the stability of a state depends in many respects on it having such ideology as would work to unite all the ethnicities living within its boundaries. In order to achieve the goal of having such an ideology, he brought the concept of Azerbaijanism to the national statehood ideology’s fore and, thus laid a foundation for a unity of all the peoples and ethnic communities of the country for the national interest’s sake. That practice precisely proved pivotal in keeping up the centuries-long traditions of multiculturalism and tolerance under new historical circumstances.

Mrs Gafarova mentions the current continuation of the state policy elaborated by the Great Leader in all the areas, and adds that our country has been recognised as one of the world’s multiculturalism hubs thanks to the well thought-out arrangements of President Ilham Aliyev of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The model of a democratic society Azerbaijan presents to the world is based on the protection of the rights and freedoms of everyone, regardless of ethnicity and religious beliefs, as well as on the preservation and development of spiritual values of those professing different faiths. The unity of the peoples of Azerbaijan was vividly demonstrated at the time of the 44 days’ Patriotic War in autumn of 2020. Representatives of all ethnicities living in our country contributed to ending the 30-year Armenian occupation of the Azerbaijani lands, restoration of our territorial integrity and historical justice; today, they are reviving Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur together.

Sahiba Gafarova emphasises the importance of the conference for studying and promoting the heritage of the National leader and Azerbaijan's current experience in maintaining and developing multiculturalism, and wishes the assembly every success.

That was followed by the readouts of the welcoming addresses by Aydin Jafarov, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Milli Majlis to the IPA CIS and Deputy Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council, by Chair of the Federation Council of the RF Federal Assembly/Chair of the CIS IPA Council Valentina Matviyenko and Secretary General of the CIS IPA Council Dmitry Kobitsky.

All those addresses specify that Heydar Aliyev’s leadership aptitude, visionary policy and distinguished personality manifested themselves only too vividly in the Soviet time and at the most fateful moments of Azerbaijan’s history. The traditions of tolerance and multiculturalism, which Azerbaijan had historically had, were revived in the legal and political fields thanks to the political will of the Great Leader,

Further, the Members of the Milli Majlis Nizami Safarov, Amina Aghazade, Rauf Aliyev and Elshad Mirbashir oghlu, and Deputy Head of the CIS IPA Council’s Secretariat/Director of the IIMDD Ivan Mushket spoke at the conference as well. The other speakers were Member of the State Duma of the RF FA Kazbek Taysayev, Member of the Senate of Uzbekistan’s Oliy Majlis Manzura Salimova, Deputy of the Mazhilis of the Kazakh Parliament Oljas Kuspekov and Member of the Republic Council of the National Assembly of Belarus Oleg Romanov. Director of the IIMDD Bishkek Branch Islambek Mursabekov, Jamshid Murtazozoda representing Tajikistan’s Majlisi Oli, advisor to Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture Oleg Amirbayov and a Chair Head at Baku Slavic University Nahida Mammadkhanova took the floor as well. Speeches were delivered by Executive Director of the Spiritual Values Promotion Fund Mehman Ismayilov, Director of the National Carpets Museum of Azerbaijan Shirin Malikova and an analyst with Baku International Centre for multiculturalism Araz Gurbanov, besides.

There were narratives about the far-sighted and wise policy of Heydar Aliyev, the development of the centuries-old traditions of multiculturalism and tolerance in Azerbaijan and their advancement to a new level. The orators also talked of Heydar Aliyev’s multicultural and tolerance policy, his sensitive and protective attitude to the national, spiritual and moral values. The life of the Great Leader, his state policy and work, the significance of his political heritage and experience for the CIS republics and the world were covered as well.

The conference ended with an award ceremony for the winners of an essay competition for schoolchildren, themed ‘Heydar Aliyev – the Founder and Architect of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan – 100 years’.

It should be mentioned that the MPs Anatoliy Rafailov and Arzu Naghiyev, delegates of the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia, TÜRKPA and CIS IPA officials, representatives of several overseas embassies, ministries and state departments as well as lecturers and teachers from several Azerbaijani universities were in attendance at the international jubilee conference, too.

The Press and Public Relations Department

The Milli Majlis