Chair of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova Speaks at the 7^th International Congress of Social Sciences ‘INCSOS – Garabagh’

The 7^th International Congress of Social Sciences co-organised by the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and the International Balkan University began at the ADA University on 2 June.

Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova, Chairman of the GNAT Mustafa Şentop, Azerbaijani Minister for Education Emin Amrullayev, Rector of the ADA University Hafiz Pashayev, Rector of the International Balkan University Mehmet Dursun Erdem, Azerbaijani and Turkish scientists and representatives of the academic circles took place in the event.

The national anthems of Azerbaijan and Turkey were sounded first.

At the opening, Hafiz Pashayev welcomed the participants and then, Sahiba Gafarova delivered an introductory speech.

The Chair of the Azerbaijani Parliament said that the 7^th International Congress of Social Sciences, conducted under the combined aegis of the legislative assemblies of Azerbaijan and Turkey, mattered very much in terms of the continued strengthening of the joint activities of our academic communities. Sahiba Gafarova expressed her gratitude to Chair of the GNAT, Professor, Dr Mustafa Şentop for his idea of this congress and for his powerful backing given to it. Mrs Gafarova also thanked the ADA University’s Rector and Staff for hosting this gathering within their university’s walls, and voiced her appreciation of the efforts that the IBU Rector, Professor, Dr Mehmet Dursun Erdem had put in organising the congress.

It is absolutely necessary to organise such academic assemblies in order to push forth the co-operation amongst our universities and scientific circles, which is proven by the presence at the congress of Azerbaijan’s Education Minister Emin Amrullayev, amongst other things, in the opinion of Sahiba Gafarova.

The rich experience of international operations and scientific research accumulated by the ADA University, one of the most advanced education hubs of Azerbaijan, allowed one to say safely that this event was going to be conducted to the highest standards attainable, Madame Speaker continued.

That the 7^th Congress is dedicated to Garabagh is important as much as it is commendable because it is essential that the academic circles would highlight the Garabagh realia and that those realia would be handed down to coming generations by means of academic literature, in Mrs Gafarova’s opinion.

Another material aspect of this congress is that its participants will cast a glance at the political, historical, sociological and cultural foundations of the relationship between our countries, and that they will come up with new ideas and initiatives capable of contributing to this process. And there every intention to do that, too, seeing what congress panel topics have been chosen for the eventual discussion.

The thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey was celebrated on 14 January this year. The brotherly Turkey was the first one with which the independent Azerbaijan had created diplomatic connexions. Turkey, for its part, was the first to recognise the independence of the Azerbaijan Republic and extended her fraternal assistance to us from day one. The official inter-state relations have gone on for thirty years but it is for centuries that the unity and solidarity of our peoples have held – the unity and solidarity that are rooted in their common history and language and stand on their shared cultural and moral pillars. The present-day level of the connexions between Azerbaijan and Turkey is yet another consequence of our unity, of our togetherness.

Having said that, Speaker Gafarova reminded the congress participants of the oft-said words of President Ilham Aliyev – ‘Not in the whole world could one find any other states as close and forever mutually supportive as Azerbaijan and Turkey are.’

For, indeed, the bilateral relations, building up on their accelerated growth in the spirit of amity and fraternity during the past three decades, have grown to embrace every possible field and area whilst the joint initiatives of Azerbaijan and Turkey have brought forth the common large-scale projects which do not merely serve the interests of both states but also promote stability, co-operation and prosperity in the greater region.

Arguably, the modernity contains certain lamentable realia, too, one of them being that it was precisely for serving the interests of their peoples, for striving for peace and co-operation and for remaining firmly on their independent domestic and foreign political courses that Azerbaijan and Turkey have had to come against double standards and a partial attitude – and more than once, too. Well, we all know full well what had happened consequently in various period, Sahiba Gafarova pointed out.

It is good to know, therefore, that the unity of Azerbaijan and Turkey has always defeated double standards and has invariably foiled all hostile encroachments against our countries. All secret and evil intents and trespasses have resulted in nothing consequently.

The brotherly Turkey’s unequivocal political and moral support given to Azerbaijan at the time of the 44-day Patriotic War was doubtless the quintessential example of the unity in question. The armed forces of Armenia had razed to the ground the Azerbaijani towns and villages they had been occupying for thirty years; they had looted our historical and cultural heritage and they had got obscene on our temples. The ethnic cleansing they had started had turned a million of our countryfolk and fellow citizens into refugees and internally displaced persons. In 1992, the Armenian chauvinists committed the Khojali Genocide killing atrociously hundreds of innocent civilians – women and children amongst them.

Alas, the international community had stayed indifferent to the occupation of the lands of Azerbaijan throughout all those years; for that, we could always feel the mighty support of the brotherly Turkey at all times and on every turn.

This country with her venerable President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the head made clear its categorical and unmistakable position in this regard from the very first days of that war. The esteemed Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Şentop and the other Turkish MPs had shown with their statements that they were right by Azerbaijan’s side. The Turkish people rejoiced at the historic victory of Azerbaijan as one of their own, and celebrated the triumph together with us.

The de-occupation of the Azerbaijani lands and what developments unfolded subsequently showed that the union of Azerbaijan and Turkey had presented the key factor of peace, security, co-operation and well-being in our region. This union is also in the interests of all the fraternal Turkic states, Sahiba Gafarova went on.

The restored territorial integrity of Azerbaijan provides new opportunities to make the accord and equality in the Turkish World stronger, too.

The first anniversary of another milestone in the Azerbaijani-Turkish relationship will come a few days later, on the 15^th of June, to be precise. It is the anniversary of the signing of the Shusha Declaration of Alliance between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The resolve of the leaders of both states and the alliance having reached its sublime point were affirmed with the signing of the Declaration in Shusha, which is the cultural capital of Azerbaijan. That document puts across the very heart and soul of the friendship and brotherhood uniting our countries and, at the same time, it defines the new goals and tasks standing before them. The parliaments representing the two peoples, too, second the political will of our states’ leaders unanimously.

There is only one reality in the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations of today and that is the reality of ‘one nation – two states’ formulated by our National Leader Heydar Aliyev at the time anon. there cannot be a shade of doubt as to the continuing development and strengthening of the Azerbaijani-Friendship friendship and brotherhood now.

‘I trust that the discussions that lie ahead during the 7^th International Congress of Social Sciences will serve the cause of making the joint activities of our academic circles stronger whilst also proving useful for consideration of the subjects vital to our states and nations and will also make a material contribution to the future deliberations in the realm of the social sciences,’ Sahiba Gafarova concluded.

More speeches followed – by Chairman of the GNAT Mustafa Şentop, Azerbaijan’s Education Minister Emin Amrullayev and Rector of the IBU Mehmet Dursun Erdem, amongst others. The speakers gravitated on the congress taking place in Baku and on the significance of the earmarked panel discussion topics. They also wished the congress participants every success.

Panel discussions proper followed.

The Press and Public Relations Department  

The Milli Majlis