Baku, April 5, AZERTAC

The Azerbaijan House has officially been opened in North York district of Ontario province of Canada.

Employees of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora, Azerbaijan's Chargé d'affaires in Canada Vasif Abutalibov, representatives of the Canadian government and parliament, consul general of Türkiye, local residents and representatives of India, Jewish and Uzbekistan communities, heads and members of Azerbaijani diaspora organizations attended the event.

After ribbon-cutting ceremony, National Anthem of Azerbaijan and Canada were played, and dear memory of the martyrs who died for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan was commemorated with a minute of silence.

Moderator of the opening ceremony was Tony Ruprecht, former minister and MP. He emphasized the importance of establishing Azerbaijani Houses from the standpoint of the preservation and promotion of national culture and its transmission to the younger generation.

Then the Chairman of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora, Fuad Muradov, congratulated Azerbaijanis on the occasion of the opening of Azerbaijani House in Canada, and assessed this fact as an obvious indicator of the country's growing attention towards Azerbaijanis living abroad.

Speaker of the Canada-Azerbaijani Interparliamentary Friendship Group Philip Lawrence, MP Ali Ahsasi, member of local government Michael Tibollo, Consul General of Türkiye in Toronto Sinem Mingan, regional head of Gizilbash Global Heritage Council Arshi Gizilbash congratulated the Azerbaijani community on such an important event.

Then, a video depicting the activities of the Azerbaijan House was demonstrated.

More than 200 members of the Azerbaijani community attended the opening ceremony. Committee Chairman Fuad Muradov welcomed the participants of the event, which was also attended by Azerbaijanis from South Azerbaijan. He expressed his gratitude to the community members for conducting an extensive information campaign and organizing large-scale actions in the province of Ontario for promoting the truth of Azerbaijan during the 44-day Patriotic War.

The chairman of the committee gave information about the solidarity of the Azerbaijani communities abroad during post-war period. He spoke about the activities of Coordination Councils, Azerbaijani Houses and Azerbaijan weekend schools. He congratulated Azerbaijanis on the occasion of the opening of the Azerbaijan House in North York district and invited the community members to take part in the activities of the Azerbaijan House.

Then, a wide video report about the activities of the Committee and the projects, as well as educational videos were presented.

Speaking at the event, Lalin Hasanova, the head of "Vatan" Azerbaijan Art and Culture Center and Azerbaijan House, gave information about the directions of activities. "Azerbaijani House is the home of all of us, each of us should support this house," she said.

Then, a video about the activity of "Vatan" Azerbaijan Art and Culture Centre was demonstrated.

The Committee chairman listed to the proposals of Azerbaijanis and answered their questions.

It was stated that the establishment of the Azerbaijan House was a great gift for all Azerbaijanis. They expressed their opinions and put forward proposals regarding the delivery of the true voice of the country to the world community.

The Azerbaijanis from South Azerbaijan expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the support.

People's artist of Azerbaijan, winner of the President's scholarship Hasan Enami, Tabriz Azerbaijani Music & Dance Ensemble, violinist Jeyhun Ismayilov performed at artistic part of the event.