Speech by Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Ragimov
Dear Mr. Amriyev,
Dear youth,
First of all, I warmly welcome the participants of the First General Assembly and wish each of you success in your activities. Thank you for accepting our invitation and attending the event.
I am glad that the First General Assembly of the Turkic Council Youth Platform is held in Baku. This is a historical event. This event opens a new page in the history of cooperation between our countries. I am confident that our cooperation within the platform will be beneficial as a result of our joint efforts and will contribute to the development of international relations of young people.
As you know, the General Assembly is taking place ahead of the Summit of the Turkic Council. Young people come together and exchange ideas, looking for new ways of cooperation for the first time on the eve of the Summit. I am sure that this will become a tradition and will be continuous.
As the Head of State, H.E. Ilham Aliyev emphasized, “Our countries have a potential, joint activities and a very important format of cooperation such as the Cooperation Council. We must strengthen all positive trends”.
There are a number of values that unite us all. These are our root, common culture and history. The events taking place in the world today give ground to say that the world has entered a new stage. The course of events, and this historical moment require faster integration from us. The Turkic Council is a good opportunity and an unparalleled platform for all of us. I am confident that the decisions we make at the meetings of the Ministers of Youth and Sports will give impetus to the further strengthening of the close ties existing between our peoples for centuries.
I would like to mention that so far, three meetings of the Ministers of Youth and Sports were held in Istanbul (2016), Baku (2017) and Astana (2018). The Turkic Council has a permanent working group in this regard. Cooperation in the field of youth and sports has started since February 2015 as part of the Turkic Council. During this time, we have come a long way together. Taking a look at the works done, we can say with certainty that our cooperation is in the right direction. Our cooperation is expanding.
During this period, Azerbaijan organized the Turkic Council Youth Festival in Ganja (2016), Second Meeting of the Turkic Council Ministers in charge of Youth and Sports in Baku (2017) and the Young Leaders Forum of the Turkic Council in Nakhchivan (2018). Also, participation of Azerbaijani youth in the forums, festivals and camps held in Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan was provided.
It should be noted that our cooperation in the field of sports has also enhanced. Azerbaijan is permanently represented by a large delegation in the World Nomad Games held in the Kyrgyz Republic. Baku hosted the first Universiade of Turkic Universities.
I would like to note that the topic of the 6th Summit of the Turkic Council held in Cholpon-Ata in September 2018 was dedicated to the youth and sports issues. In the Declaration adopted, the heads of state highly appreciated the works done in this area. Also, they gave instructions to take the necessary steps for the launch of the Turkic Council Youth Platform in order to expand cooperation in this field.
Today, the First General Assembly of the Platform was held. May it be blissful and successful for all of us and useful for the youth.
Thank you for your attention!