Official: Determined to further promote culture across Turkic nations

Azerbaijan will further promote its culture in Turkic states, State Committee for Work with Diaspora Chairman Fuad Muradov has said.

He made the remarks on the second day of the International Baku-Shusha Forum in Shusha on December 21.

He also noted the important role of diasporas in uniting the 200-million Turkic world and spoke in detail about the committee's activities and ongoing projects.

Underscoring the significance of creating an online news bulletin, Muradov stated that samples of Azerbaijani literature are expected to be digitalized.

“This will expand the awareness of the forum participants. For example, Azerbaijani eco-activists are holding a peaceful protest, but not all countries are sufficiently aware of this," he said.

Fuad Muradov highlighted that the committee’s future strategy will cover such areas as media, social networks, and ICT, aiming to expand its technological capabilities on the internet.

During the forum, the participants adopted the declaration in Shusha.

Muradov stressed that the sides aim to implement joint initiatives of the Turkic states' diaspora organizations based on a certain strategy.

“Today's meeting addresses the activities of the Turkic States Organization's member institutions for the coming year, and efforts to be undertaken in this context in Shusha. We will endorse a relevant statement following these discussions," he added.

Speaking at the forum, Special Representative of Azerbaijani President in Shusha District Aydin Karimov underlined that building of ASAN (Azerbaijan Service and Assessment Network) and DOST (Sustainable and Operational Social Security) centers will be constructed in Shusha city by the end of 2023.

Noting that there are currently two hotels and one hostel operating in Shusha, Karimov pointed out that public services will be provided based on modern technologies in the district.

"A five-star hotel and a congress center are being built. This work has already been completed by 60 percent. Moreover, construction of the second building of the Kharibulbul Hotel is underway. The implementation of all this work by the end of 2023 will create 700 places for living in Shusha," he added.

During the forum, the participants discussed the improvement, restoration, and construction work carried out in Shusha, as well as future plans.

Representatives of Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Hungary

and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus participated in the forum.

Then, the sides exchanged views on the events to be held in 2023 in the cultural capital of the Turkic world - the city of Shusha. It was proposed to hold the "Week of the Turkic Diaspora" in Shusha.

Prior to the start of the forum, the participants were given a tour of the Ganja gates of the Shusha fortress and the busts of the luminaries of Azerbaijani culture shot by Armenians, as well as given information about the restoration work carried out in the city.

The first day of the International Baku-Shusha Forum of heads of public structures responsible for diaspora issues was held on December 20 in Baku.

The forum touched upon essential projects regarding the Turkic diasporas' integration, the enhancement of cultural and humanitarian cooperation of the Turkic states, the significance of collaboration among diaspora structures, and the opportunities for foreign-based Turkic communities to receive education in their native languages.

The signing ceremony of Memorandums of Understanding among the relevant structures of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Türkiye, and Kyrgyzstan was also held during the event.