Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova told the outbound President of the International Turkic Academy Darhan Kıdırali as they met on 18 June that the ITA had from the very day of its inception served to reinforce scientific integration of the Turkic states, a comprehensive popularisation of their common heritage and the co-ordination of the educational and academic activities in those states. Azerbaijan gives the work that the ITA does the same weight as to the endeavours of the other Turkic co-operation organisations and is trying to bring to the table her own bit to ensure its progress, according to Mrs Gafarova.

The ITA has taken tremendous steps to further the academic co-operation amongst the Turkic-speaking states, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis pointed out before highlighting the services of Darhan Kıdırali as the first ITA President in the successes achieved in that field over the eight years past. She also spoke appreciatively of the contribution made by Mr Kıdırali to the progress of the bonds of friendship between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. It was for all those exploits that President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan bestowed the Friendship Order upon Darhan Kıdırali on 28 December 2017.

The 44 days’ Patriotic War and the new realia in our region as well as Azerbaijan’s commitment to sustainable peace and stability were also broached as the meeting continued. Azerbaijan had fallen back on the international law as she had de-occupied her lands by the military-political means; that had completely reshaped the region geopolitically, Sahiba Gafarova told Mr Kıdırali. She proceeded to express a hope that a peace accord would be signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan before long.

As regards the election of Shusha as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World, a new renaissance era will be started in that town where considerable rebuilding and construction work goes on right now, and that new renaissance will definitely contribute importantly to the literature and, in general, the culture of the Turkic World.

President of the International Turkic Academy Darhan Kıdırali thanked Speaker Sahiba Gafarova for the heartfelt reception and remembered that as he had been elected to that station eight years ago, too, he had paid his first abroad visit to nowhere else but Baku. Mr Kıdırali talked about the work done by the Academy during his presidency and expressed his appreciation to Mrs Gafarova and the members of the Milli Majlis for their backing to the work of the ITA.

Azerbaijan occupies a special position within the unity of the Turkic World, whilst the victory gained in the Patriotic War under the leadership of the country’s president and commander-in-chief Ilham Aliyev is marked as a common Turkic celebration. Having said that, Mr Kıdırali told Mrs Gafarova about the work already accomplished and to be started yet within the frameworks of the project Turkic Traces in the Caucasus. He recalled the January 2019 undertaking of the ITA, jointly with the other Turkic World specialists, to examine the common Turkic tangible heritage and cultural legacy within the Azerbaijani territories with the subsequent publicity of their findings.

Mr Kıdırali also emphasised the importance of the 9^th Global Baku Forum current in Azerbaijan and said that Azerbaijan had become a scientific and intellectual centre.

Other matters of shared interest were talked about, too, as the conversation drew on.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis