Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 12
Trend:
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared 2016 the Year of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan, which is a very right decision, Samad Seyidov, the chairman of the committee on international and interparliamentary relations of the Azerbaijani Parliament told Trend Jan. 12.
Today the most important problem in the world is the lack of tolerance, mutual respect and intercultural dialogue, according to Seyidov.
“The processes taking place in Europe and the Middle East today show that the concepts like mutual respect, tolerance that form the basis of world civilization, have disappeared, and that has a very serious impact on international relations. Not that they've disappeared, but they are used as a tool to put nations against one another and create problems," he said.
From this perspective, declaring 2016 the Year of Multiculturalism by president is an answer to these processes, said Seyidov.
“All national minorities in Azerbaijan are represented in Azerbaijani Parliament. There is no problem between Sunnis and Shias in Azerbaijan, representatives of various nations are living and working on the basis of mutual respect in Azerbaijan. I see the problem in corrosion of the values declared by the West itself.”
Values existing in Azerbaijan are an important and most significant example not only for the West, but also for the East, he said.
"There is a tension observed between Iran and Saudi Arabia now. Considering that, good relations of Azerbaijan with both Iran and Saudi Arabia can make a very big contribution to the elimination of this problem," Seyidov said.
"Declaring the Year of Multiculturalism in Azerbaijan, firstly, is a message to the whole world; secondly, is the correct formula for living together of people, nations and religions in Azerbaijan; thirdly, is a factor determining Azerbaijan’s role in the region. Otherwise, Azerbaijan is a bridge able to connect East and West. Our country has become a binding, developing factor,” Seyidov said.
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