Baku, December 27, AZERTAC

Aktoty Raimkulova, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, visited the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) on Friday.

During her meeting with Vugar Aliyev, Chairman of the Board of AZERTAC, Aktoty Raimkulova expressed her sorrow over the news of the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger aircraft near the city of Aktau, Kazakhstan, which claimed numerous lives, and conveyed her deep condolences.

The meeting also reviewed the historical development of AZERTAC. Raimkulova commended the Agency’s contribution to providing informational support for projects aimed at bringing together the Turkic World.

Vugar Aliyev, Chairman of the AZERTAC Board, highlighted that the Agency, which will mark its 105th anniversary next year, publishes around 600 news items daily in eight languages. He also emphasized AZERTAC’s collaboration with 53 international news agencies and media organizations, noting the Agency’s active membership in the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA), the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA), and the Alliance of Turkic News Agencies (ATNA).

Vugar Aliyev emphasized that the joint collaboration among the news agencies of the Turkic states helps deliver the realities of these countries to the global community while also strengthening cooperation across political, economic, humanitarian, and other domains.

The AZERTAC Chairman of the Board underscored that under the leadership of President and Victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani Army liberated the country's lands, ending the three-decade-long occupation. He also highlighted the ongoing large-scale restoration and reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories.

Vugar Aliyev mentioned the gradual resettlement of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) in their ancestral lands and informed Raimkulova about the destruction of Azerbaijani historical, cultural, and religious monuments during the occupation.

Raimkulova provided insight into the Foundation's activities, including efforts to study and preserve the history, tangible and intangible heritage of the Turkic World, as well as future projects. Recalling the establishment of the Foundation under the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, supported by the Presidents of Türkiye, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, Raimkulova stated, “Currently, under the guidance of the heads of state, the Foundation is engaged in the reconstruction and restoration of shared cultural monuments of the Turkic World, and is supporting projects to be submitted for UNESCO's multinational nominations.”

She added that the Foundation is compiling a catalog of the shared Turkic tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The process will involve not only the drafting of the list but also the publication of a book and its availability in digital format for a broader audience. She further noted that a special commission comprising renowned scientific figures and experts has been established to select the most significant samples for inclusion in the catalog, including endangered, destroyed, and lost material and cultural samples in Karabakh.

The discussions also covered the implementation of joint projects between the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and AZERTAC, as well as the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the two institutions.