Baku, May 16, AZERTAC

The opening ceremony of the 30th anniversary meeting and the 1st Congress of Ambroise Pare International Military Surgery Forum (APIMSF) has kicked off in Baku.

The event is co-organized by the Military Hospital of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Turkish-Azerbaijani Endoscopic Surgeons Association.

Assistant to the Azerbaijani President for Work with Law Enforcement Bodies and Military Issues Fuad Alasgarov, Chief of the Azerbaijan State Border Service Elchin Guliyev and other state officials attended the event.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Fuad Alasgarov conveyed President Ilham Aliyev`s greetings to congress participants. The President's assistant briefed the audience on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that 20% of the Azerbaijani territories have been occupied by the Armenian armed forces. He said that because of the non-constructive position of Armenia in the negotiation process and the fact of occupation of Azerbaijani lands it has been impossible to ensure peace in the region.

Chief of the Azerbaijani State Border Service Elchin Guliyev emphasized the importance of developing military surgery in Azerbaijan and expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in this area.

Other speakers included professor of Surgery, Director of Surgical Simulation, Chief of Division of Trauma and Combat Surgery USUHS, Secretary General of the World Surgery Society Kenneth Boffard, Head of the Military Hospital of Azerbaijan`s State Border Service, president of the Ambroise Pare International Military Surgery Forum Kanan Yusifzade.

The four-day international forum brings together 156 participants from twenty countries such including Azerbaijan, Germany, USA, Belarus, Great Britain, South Africa, Finland, France, Georgia, Croatia, Iran, Israel, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Greece.

During the congress, medical centers with vast experience in military surgery will share their valuable experience with Azerbaijani surgeons. The congress will host authoritative surgeons and other doctors who will deliver lectures and guide the congress sessions. The local doctors with significant experience in the field of military surgery and disaster medicine will share it with the colleagues from different countries.

Ambroise Paré International Military Surgery Forum (APIMSF) is an international professional society of surgeons from all over the world who experienced war surgery, surgery in terror attacks and surgery in catastrophic situations promoting collegial cooperation, friendship and research, to better care for our mutual patients wounded in combat, terroristic attacks or natural disasters. The Forum aims to promote the art and science of international military surgery through meetings, correspondence, research, publications, friendly and personal relationships, believing that all the patients ultimately benefit by the force multiplier that international cooperation can produce.