Category: Azer News

The opening ceremony of the Uzbekistan Culture Days has taken place at Heydar Aliyev Center, Azernews reports. The event is organized by the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry.

A concert program featuring artists from both countries was presented at the opening ceremony.

Guests first viewed a photo exhibition dedicated to Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage, history, and modern development.

In his speech, the Azerbaijan Deputy Culture Minister, Farid Jafarov, emphasized that this event is not just a meeting, but a vivid manifestation of the respect and love between the two brotherly nations.

He outlined that holding Uzbekistan Culture Days in Azerbaijan is an important and historic event in the cultural life of the entire Turkic world. It was noted that our peoples have always approached Uzbek culture in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani culture in Uzbekistan with great love and appreciation. The tradition of organizing mutual culture days expresses our commitment to preserving our common spiritual heritage, and its continuity is a natural result of our strategic cooperation.

Farid Jafarov stressed that Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have been united since ancient times by historical, cultural, and spiritual ties:

“We are an inseparable part of the unique Turkic world.”

He added that our common historical roots, belonging to the same language family, rich cultural heritage, and religious values form the solid foundation of relations between our countries. These ties are further enriched through cooperation in political, economic, humanitarian, and other fields.

The Deputy Minister also highlighted the importance of strengthening cultural cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan both bilaterally and multilaterally – within international organizations, especially the Organization of Turkic States and its specialized cultural institutions, UNESCO, ICESCO, and the CIS.

Uzbekistan Deputy Culture Minister, Bahodir Akhmedov, noted that this event once again demonstrates the high level of cultural relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. He emphasized that holding mutual culture days is a vivid manifestation of the love, respect, and common spiritual values of our brotherly peoples.

The Deputy Minister stated that serious preparations had been made for the program, with all details carefully planned and organized.

He said that the concert featured not only performances by Uzbek singers and musicians but also Azerbaijani music, songs, and artistic works. He noted that this demonstrates how our cultures enrich each other and how close our common roots are.

The concert program then presented music and dance performances reflecting Uzbekistan’s rich cultural heritage.

The purpose of holding the Culture Days is to further strengthen the friendship between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, develop humanitarian cooperation, and expand cultural dialogue between the two countries.

Note that the Uzbekistan Culture Days in Azerbaijan will continue until December 20.

On December 15, the first meeting of the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Joint Culture Commission is scheduled to take place.

Within the framework of the Culture Days, concerts by the “Navruz” dance ensemble and the Uzbekistan State Symphony Orchestra will also be organized.

The closing ceremony of the Uzbekistan Culture Days will be held at the Mirzo Ulugbek Secondary School, which was built and inaugurated by the brotherly country in 2023 in the city of Fuzuli.

Moreover, a cultural program will be presented in Baku for members of the Uzbek delegation.

Recall that the Uzbekistan Culture Days were held in Baku in 2023, and Azerbaijan Culture Days were held in Tashkent in 2024.

A total of 18 anti-tank mines, 42 anti-personnel mines, and 683 items of unexploded ordnance (UXO) were discovered and neutralized in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories between December 8 and 14, Azernews reports.

According to ANAMA’s weekly update on humanitarian demining operations in the liberated areas, 838.2 hectares of land were cleared of mines and explosive remnants of war during the reporting period.

The statement noted that demining operations were carried out jointly by ANAMA, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), the State Border Service (SBS), as well as four private companies.

The operations covered the territories of Tartar, Aghdara, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Khojaly, Khankendi, Shusha, Khojavend, Lachin, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli, and Zangilan, as well as the villages of Baghanis Ayrim, Ashaghy Askipara, Kheyrimli, and Gizilhajili in the Gazakh district, which were also liberated from occupation.

The Baku Initiative Group has continued its investigations into crimes committed by colonial powers in occupied territories, releasing new findings that highlight what it describes as some of the most brutal and inhuman atrocities carried out under Belgian colonial rule, Azernews reports.

According to information disseminated by the Group, Belgian colonialism stands out in European history as a unique and particularly dark model, having functioned as the personal monarchical possession of King Leopold II. Unlike other colonial systems, it was marked by extreme systematic brutality, racial humiliation, and practices openly repeated in the heart of Europe. One of the most shameful manifestations of this policy was the creation of so-called ‘human zoos.’

In 1897, on the direct order of Leopold II, 267 Congolese people were forcibly brought from the Congo and exhibited as ‘living displays’ at the World Exhibition in the Tervuren area of Brussels. Kept half-naked behind wooden fences and exposed to harsh European weather conditions, they were treated as objects rather than human beings. As a result of this barbaric exhibition, at least seven Congolese individuals, including children, died from pneumonia, influenza, and other illnesses, after which their bodies were secretly buried. The display, presented under the guise of a ‘civilizing mission,’ became a symbol of open racial humiliation and genocide in Europe.

The site later became a permanent museum, first known as the Congo Museum and later as the Royal Museum for Central Africa, which functioned for decades as a propaganda center for colonial ideology. Similar practices were repeated during the 1958 Expo in Brussels, where 598 Congolese people-183 families comprising men, women, and children-were once again exhibited to the public as ‘living displays.’ These events demonstrated that the 1897 exhibition was not an isolated episode, but part of a systematic and institutionalized colonial policy rooted in racial hierarchy and the ideology of a so-called civilizing mission that persisted into the mid-20th century.

The Group also highlighted documented cases from 1959-1962 in Burundi, Congo, and Rwanda, then under Belgian rule, where approximately 20,000 children born to white fathers and Black mothers were forcibly separated from their families and transferred to Belgium for adoption without parental consent. These actions resulted in severe violations of family unity, personal identity, and cultural belonging.

According to the Baku Initiative Group, these facts collectively demonstrate that Belgium’s colonial policy was based on systematic racism, widespread human rights abuses, and grave violations of human dignity. The findings are consistent with conclusions outlined in the 2019 report of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have officially approved a strategic partnership agreement in the energy sector, Azernews reports.

This follows a decree signed by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, approving the ‘Agreement on Strategic Partnership in the Energy Sector between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.’

The agreement, signed in Astana on October 21, 2025, will take effect upon the completion of the necessary domestic procedures. Following its enactment, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Energy will ensure the implementation of the agreement’s provisions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has been tasked with notifying the Government of Kazakhstan that all required domestic steps for the agreement to take effect have been completed.

An exhibition celebrating the 900th anniversary of architect Ajami Nakhchivani, part of UNESCO’s anniversaries program, has opened at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, Azernews reports.

The exhibition was organized with the support of the Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO, jointly by Azerbaijan’s Permanent Delegation to UNESCO, the Azerbaijan Union of Architects, and the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, in partnership with UNESCO.

The 900th anniversary of Ajami Nakhchivani’s birth, included in UNESCO’s list of anniversaries for 2024-2025 by the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference, was marked with a ceremony attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps, the Permanent Secretariat of the Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO, UNESCO Secretariat staff, as well as representatives of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and the Azerbaijan Union of Architects.

Speaking at the openning ceremony, Azerbaijan’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO Elman Abdullayev emphasized Ajami Nakhchivani’s exceptional place in world architectural heritage. He noted that the Nakhchivan school of architecture founded by Ajami had a significant impact on the development of Near and Middle Eastern architecture. The Ambassador highlighted that Ajami’s works, including the Momine Khatun Mausoleum and the Yusif ibn Kuseyir Mausoleum, are rare gems of 12th-century architecture, distinguished by their precision of craftsmanship, perfect symmetry, and ornamental richness, and remain a valuable source of inspiration for architects, scholars, and researchers today.

During his speech, the Ambassador recalled the carpet dedicated to Ajami Nakhchivani by the prominent carpet artist Latif Karimov, which was gifted to UNESCO in 1983 by the National Leader of the Azerbaijani People Heydar Aliyev. He stressed that this was a vivid example of preserving and perpetuating cultural heritage through art. He also underlined that UNESCO’s recognition of Ajami Nakhchivani’s contributions to universal culture is another important manifestation of the Azerbaijan-UNESCO partnership.

The Permanent Delegate noted that Ajami Nakhchivani’s human-centered and harmonious spatial philosophy remains relevant today, and emphasized that the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), to be held in Baku on May 17-22, 2026, will serve as an important platform for international discussion of these values. Abdullayev expressed gratitude to the National Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan for UNESCO and the Azerbaijan Union of Architects for their support in organizing the event and exhibition.

Following the opening remarks, Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, stated that Ajami Nakhchivani’s creativity turned Nakhchivan into a major cultural center of the region. He emphasized that Ajami’s architectural heritage preserved local traditions while embodying universal values that transcend time and borders. Ottone also highly valued Azerbaijan’s ongoing cooperation with UNESCO in the field of cultural heritage preservation and promotion.

Next, Aktoty Raimkulova, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, noted that Ajami Nakhchivani’s architectural style, rooted in the rich traditions of the Turkic world, stands out for its profound meaning and originality, clearly reflected in monuments such as the Momine Khatun and Yusif ibn Kuseyir mausoleums.

Nigar Rahimli, representative of the Azerbaijan National Commission for UNESCO, emphasized the importance of including Ajami Nakhchivani’s 900th anniversary in UNESCO’s 2024-2025 anniversaries program. She noted that his creativity significantly influenced not only Azerbaijani but also Near Eastern architecture. She stressed that the exhibition at UNESCO Headquarters highlights the importance of presenting the great architect’s legacy to a wider audience and underlines the necessity of its preservation.

Later, Rasim Babakishiyev, Honored Architect of Azerbaijan and Secretary of the Azerbaijan Union of Architects, underlined that architectural monuments are among the most convincing proofs of the history of nations and states. He expressed pride in Azerbaijan’s rich architectural heritage and highlighted the special attention paid by President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva to the preservation and restoration of architectural monuments both domestically and internationally. Babakishiyev emphasized that Ajami Nakhchivani’s works, such as the Momine Khatun and Yusif ibn Kuseyir mausoleums, are distinguished by high professionalism and engineering precision, and their survival to this day is due to this mastery.

The event continued with the presentation of a book published with the support of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and the Azerbaijan Union of Architects, dedicated to the 900th anniversary of Ajami Nakhchivani’s birth. At the end, guests were offered dishes of Azerbaijani national cuisine.

The exhibition at UNESCO Headquarters will remain open until December 19, 2025.

A new regulatory framework for the artificial intelligence industry is set to take effect in South Korea on January 22, Azernews reports, citing Yonhap.

The legislation includes safety and transparency requirements, such as disclosure obligations for certain AI systems, and calls for the establishment of a national AI committee and the creation of a basic three-year AI plan, according to sources familiar with the matter.

A recent poll cited by Yonhap revealed that 98% of South Korean AI startups are unprepared for the new rules and lack the systems needed to comply. An unnamed industry official warned that some companies could be forced to abruptly alter or suspend services, and that others might even consider exiting the South Korean market after the regulations come into effect.

A meeting between Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov and his Pakistani counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, has taken place.

As reported by Azernews, Ishaq Dar shared information about the meeting on the social media platform X.

The talks were held in the United Arab Emirates on the sidelines of the Sir Bani Yas Forum, where the ministers discussed bilateral relations as well as regional issues of mutual interest.

High-level visits and ongoing political dialogue continue to strengthen ties between Baku and Islamabad.

It should be noted that the two countries maintain active cooperation in defense, energy, trade, education, and diplomacy, while regularly supporting each other within the UN, OIC, and other international organizations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Kyiv is prepared to forgo NATO membership in exchange for robust security guarantees from the United States and European partners, as diplomatic efforts to end the war intensify, Azernews reports.

Speaking to journalists, Zelensky said the proposed guarantees should mirror NATO’s Article 5 collective defense principle. He added that the framework would not be limited to Europe, noting that non-European partners such as Canada and Japan could also play a role. His comments were reported by the Financial Times following a WhatsApp conversation with reporters.

The remarks come ahead of Zelensky’s planned meeting in Berlin with U.S. Special Representative Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, underscoring renewed international engagement around a possible peace settlement.

Zelensky also disclosed that Ukraine has yet to receive a response from Washington regarding Kyiv’s revised peace proposal. Acknowledging the complexity of negotiations, he said that compromises would be unavoidable if the war is to be brought to an end.

The statement marks one of Zelensky’s clearest signals yet of flexibility on Ukraine’s long-standing NATO ambitions, highlighting Kyiv’s focus on securing concrete and enforceable security guarantees amid ongoing conflict.

The World Kyokushin Federation (KWF) World Championship concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Azerbaijan’s national team delivering strong performances across multiple categories, Azernews reports.

The Azerbaijani delegation included 16 athletes, 2 referees, 1 head coach, and 1 country representative, for a total of 20 participants. The team was led by Gabil Sayadov, Secretary General of the Azerbaijan Karate Federation, and Rza Mustafayev, KWF representative.

According to the final results, Azerbaijani karatekas won medals in various age and weight categories:

Gold: Javid Kazimli (16-17 years, +80 kg) and Selcan Babayeva (+60 kg)

Silver: Rahman Yusubov (14-15 years, -75 kg)

Bronze: Vagif Bandaliyev (16-17 years, -70 kg) and Toghrul Orucov (12-13 years, -60 kg)

The national team excelled in both individual and team competitions, representing Azerbaijan with distinction and contributing to the strengthening of the country’s position in the international Kyokushin karate arena.

A delegation led by senior officials of the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan, along with prominent figures from the arts community and leading artistic ensembles, has arrived in Azerbaijan.

As reported by Azernews, citing the Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture, as reported by Report, the visit is taking place within the framework of the Uzbekistan Culture Days, scheduled to be held in Azerbaijan from December 14 to 20.

As part of the program, the first meeting of the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan Joint Culture Commission will be held on December 15, marking an important step in strengthening cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The Culture Days will feature performances by the ‘Navruz’ Dance Ensemble and concert programs by the Uzbekistan State Symphony Orchestra, showcasing Uzbekistan’s rich cultural heritage.

The closing ceremony of the Uzbekistan Culture Days will be held at the Mirza Ulugbek Secondary School in Fuzuli, which was built and inaugurated by Uzbekistan in 2023 as a symbol of brotherly ties and post-conflict reconstruction efforts.

It is worth noting that Uzbekistan Culture Days were held in Baku in 2023, while Azerbaijan Culture Days took place in Tashkent in 2024, reflecting the growing cultural exchange between the two friendly nations.