The “First Youth Forum of Diaspora Organizations of Turkic States: Heydar Aliyev and the Turkic World” kicks off in Baku. The forum is being held within the Year of Heydar Aliyev with the joint support of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Organization of Turkic States.

Besides Azerbaijan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the delegates of the observer states - Turkmenistan, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Hungary,  as well as the deputy head of the department of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, attended the event.

Before the start of the forum, the participants visited the Alley of Honor and the Alley of Martyrs and paid respect to the dear memory of Heydar Aliyev, the founder of modern Azerbaijan, and our martyrs who died for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country.

After the sounding of the National anthem, a video-roll reflecting the summit meetings and speeches of the heads of Turkic states was demonstrated.

Greeting the participants of the forum, the Chairman of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora, Fuad Muradov, paid attention to the fact that this Forum coincides with the historical event for Azerbaijan and the Turkic World - the days when Azerbaijan fully secured its sovereignty. The chairman congratulated the entire Turkic world on this occasion.

Recalling that the national leader Heydar Aliyev paid special attention to the development of the diaspora structures of the Turkic world, the Chairman of the Committee stated that continuation of this policy played an essential role in gaining support of Turkic states during both the Second Karabakh War and the anti-terror operations of September 19, 2023.  

The chairman of the Committee has noted that the First Forum is of great importance in terms of networking and becoming an organized force of the all-Turkic diaspora: “The joint activity of the diasporas of the Turkic states, including the diaspora youth, is also necessary in terms of preventing campaigns against our countries and the entire Turkic world”.

Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Adil Aliyev has underlined that the works done by the national leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, both in the field of diaspora building and for the sake of the unity of the Turkic world, is bearing fruit today.

The Minister of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Farid Gayibov, called  the activity of the diaspora youth a clear example of patriotism.

Deputy Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), Yerzhan Mukash has noted that Heydar Aliyev's services for the unity of the Turkic World will never be forgotten.

Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has told that during the 44-day Patriotic War, 170 million dollars collected by the Armenian diaspora living abroad was used to finance terror attacks against the civilian population of Azerbaijan.

Deputy Minister of Culture Saadat Yusifova has mentioned  that liberation of our lands from occupation under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev and the complete protection of our territorial integrity is not only a victory for Azerbaijan, but for the entire Turkic World.

The forum will continue its work with panel sessions.