Baku, November 11, AZERTAC

The International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation hosted a presentation of the book "We walked these roads together", dedicated to the unshakable brotherhood and friendship between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The book reflects the merits of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in achieving a high level of relations between the two countries.

The book, begins since 2003, covers the last period of the activity of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and ends with the signing of the "Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey" on June 15, 2021 in the cultural capital of Azerbaijan - the city of Shusha. The book presents speeches, addresses, statements and photographs of the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey at bilateral and multilateral meetings.

The event was attended by officials, MPs of Azerbaijan and Turkey, ambassadors, heads of international organizations, well-known political, public and cultural figures.

Opening the event and welcoming the guests, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva noted: "Undoubtedly, we are going through historical times. Remembering those sacred 44 days, we recall the feelings that gripped us while our land was being liberated inch by inch. That excitement, those tears of joy and sadness. That attitude to double standards, to injustice and, finally, that unforgettable feeling of our Victory - a sense of pride. We are immensely grateful to all our heroes, led by Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, for giving us these unforgettable feelings. We always remember our martyrs with great respect, love and wish our veterans a speedy healing. Undoubtedly, this is a Victory not only for Azerbaijan, but also for the entire Turkic world, because this Victory united the entire Turkic world. At the same time, this Victory is the embodiment of values, heroic traditions that we inherited from our ancestors. This is a celebration of our culture, art, literature and music."

Gunay Afandiyeva noted that the state policy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for almost 20 years, reflected in the pages of the book presented at the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation on the eve of Victory Day, played an invaluable role in raising the level of relations between the two countries.

The president of the Foundation stressed that these relations are also evidence of loyalty, respect and trust between the heads of the two states.

Speaking at the event Ambassador of Turkey to Azerbaijan Cahit Bagci, emphasized the importance of the event. Cahit Bagci said: "The words of the founder of the Republic of Turkey Gazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the national leader of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, in fact, reflect the history, form and mission of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. All this is united by the publication of this valuable book, which addresses the current period and reveals the service of this relationship to the present day. Naturally, the expression "We walked these roads together" has become a symbolic expression of the political path of our esteemed heads of state, as well as the designation of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. In this sense, the title of the book is also extremely valuable from the point of view of describing our relations, demonstrating their current level. I congratulate the president of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva for organizing the event and all those who made a great contribution to the preparation of the book led by Malahat Ibrahimgizi."

Speaking at the event, Deputy Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Labor and Social Policy, author of the idea and creator of the book Malahat Ibrahimgizi noted that this book has been one of the important publications about the brotherhood of Azerbaijan and Turkey since 2003. Noting that the two fraternal countries have always supported each other in all difficult times, she stressed that Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in the war for justice is an example for the whole world. Malahat Ibrahimgizi thanked the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation for the high level organization of the event.

Speaking at the event Rector of Ankara University Nejdet Unuvar, Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Deputy of Milli Majlis Azay Guliyev, Chairman of the Commission on Investigation of Violence against Women GNAT, Deputy of Turkey Oznur Chalik, Rector of Azerbaijan State University of Oil and Industry Mustafa Babanli and Chairman of the Committee on Culture of Milli Majlis, Deputy Ganira Pashayeva shared their impressions about the book, talked about the inviolability and eternity of Azerbaijani-Turkish relations, said that the expression " Two States - One nation" in all respects finds its confirmation in the face of the united people of the two countries.

The artistic part of the event was attended by People's Artist, Professor of the Azerbaijan National Conservatory Mansum Ibrahimov, students-winners of the national television mugham contest Gulzar Farajova and Elsever Muradov, as well as a student of the music school No. 26 named after Magomayev Elkhan Mammadli, who performed Azerbaijani and Turkish folk songs. The singers were accompanied by the musical Mugham group "Karabakh": People's Artist Elchin Hashimov on tar, Honored Artist Elnur Ahmadov on kamancha, Siyavush Karimov on naghara.