Baku Forum needed for dialogue to overcome challenges

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Organization of Islamic Cooperation chief has said the current time is critically important, noting dialogue and courage are needed to overcome its challenges.

“Forums similar to the one being held in Baku today, are needed for this dialogue, since culture is one of the basic elements of states’ economic stability,” said Iyad Amin Madani the at 3rd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue that kicked off in Baku on May 18.

Praising Baku’s dynamic development, Madani said “in each visit to Baku, we discover something new.”

“This city is very dynamic in terms of its spirit, energy which is palpable. It is not only related to Azerbaijan’s geographical position, but also to the country’s leadership, its vision that turned the country into what it is today,” Madani said.

He added that OIC is fully committed to the dialogue process, creation of partner relations with other organizations to reach understanding.

"Our task is to create interrelation between what we are discussing here, and the possibility to convey it to the ordinary people who live in conflict zones, or to those who can’t return to their lands due to the disagreements in religious and national issues,” OIC secretary general said.

Madani stressed that everyone should strive for multiculturalism.

“Today, we need to deeply think over the fact that each society and country is a kind of a common “pot” for various cultures and nationalities. We have to make efforts in the multicultural world, while this common “pot” gives us a single point of view,” he said.

He also added that different cultures can be harmonic parts of this “pot”.

Amr Abdel Ghaffar, the regional director of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the Middle East spoke about the role of tourism in establishment of peace.

He said at the forum that promotion of tourism contributes to the development of the global economy and is a tool for establishment of peace.

Addressing the forum, Abdel Ghaffar, on behalf of the UNWTO, thanked Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev for his activities.

He also said the UNWTO develops tourism to promote and enhance the importance of mutual understanding and development in the world, noting that tourism has become one of the main sectors of the economy.

Abdel Ghaffar went on to say that over one billion people cross international borders each year, adding three million people cross the borders of foreign countries every day.

“Our sector has become an indisputable means of enriching the global economy and improvement of people's lives,” the UNWTO official said.

He said thanks to the development of tourism, jobs are being created, inequality is fading away, and the level of political stability increases as governments attract investments and promote trade.

Abdel Ghaffar further added that tourism, today, provides five percent of the global GDP, while in the services sector some 30 percent of the global GDP accounts for this sector.

Aside from that, the UNWTO official said tourism is a powerful force that takes down barriers and facilitates the establishment of relations among nations.

“But tourism can flourish only in peace,” he underlined.

The 3rd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue is being held under the patronage of President Aliyev. The forum’s partners are UNESCO and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations.

The World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, also known as the “Baku Process”, was initiated in 2008. Two previous editions were held in 2011 and in 2013. It has become a global platform for exchange and discussion on major contemporary challenges pertaining to intercultural dialogue and the sharing of related universal values, which have become pressing issues to address in our globalized and more and more diverse societies.