By Laman Ismayilova

Despite Armenia's resistance, UNESCO Executive Board has adopted the second decision proposed by Azerbaijan on "The Baku process: Advancing intercultural dialogue for human security, peace, and sustainable development," Azernews reports.

The draft decision on the Baku Process, initiated in 2008 by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, was unanimously adopted at the UNESCO session. Some 41 countries joined the draft resolution as sponsors.

During the session, Azerbaijan's permanent representative to UNESCO Elman Abdullayev noted that the initiative started in 2008, is one of the most important platforms for promoting intercultural dialogue in the world.

In his speech, Elman Abdullayev once again touched on the UN General Assembly resolution and the UN Secretary-General's report to this effect.

He emphasized that about 1,500 participants from 135 countries were involved in the World Forum on Intercultural dialogue, which is a partner of international organizations such as UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the World Tourism Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Council of Europe, and ICESCO.

The main goal of the World Forum on Intercultural dialogue is to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue around the world, to expand awareness in this direction at the international level, and to create a common platform for communication and exchange of ideas.

Earlier, UNESCO Executive Board adopted the implementation of the Fit For Life initiative and the 7th International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sports (MINEPS VII) proposed by Azerbaijan for the agenda of the session.

Elman Abdullayev spoke about a draft decision submitted by Azerbaijan with the sponsorship of 61 countries and reminded the participants that Baku will host the MINEPS VII conference in March 2023.

The International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS) has been organized by UNESCO and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization since 1976.

It is a global forum for leading governmental and non-governmental stakeholders to develop future-oriented strategies which will help to use the benefits of physical education, physical activity and sport for development.

UNESCO's sport-based flagship is designed to accelerate COVID-19 recovery, support inclusive and integrated policy-making, and enhance the well-being of youth around the world. Azerbaijan is one of the first countries to support the project.

During the session, Elman Abdullayev also read out Azerbaijan's statement that touched upon Azerbaijan's long-standing partnership with UNESCO which spans 30 years.

The statement also underlined that civil societies and NGOs have repeatedly applied for dispatching a UNESCO mission to assess the current state of Azerbaijan's cultural heritage in the territory of Armenia.