OFFICIAL VISIT OF PRESIDENT OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN SEYED MOHAMMAD KHATAMI TO REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN
IRANIAN PRESIDENT AWARDED DIPLOMA OF HONORARY DOCTOR OF AZERBAIJAN NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Opening remarks were made by president of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, Academician Mahmud Karimov, who expressed gratitude to the Iranian President for visiting the Academy. He said in particular: today is very remarkable day for the National Academy of Sciences and the whole scientific community of Azerbaijan. President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, esteemed Seyed Mohammad Khatami arrived at the higher scientific organization of our country, temple of science - the National Academy of Sciences. We would like to say “welcome Mr. President and thank you very much for this meeting.
Then, the President of the Academy touched upon the development of the Azerbaijan-Iran scientific cooperation including joint researches, conferences, symposia, and scientists’ reciprocal visits. We attach great importance to these links; our states and people are bound up with a number of factors such as our common history, religion, customs and traditions, he said.
Academician Mahmud Karimov also noted that due to the efforts by nationwide leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran had reached the level of friendship and brotherhood. The today’s level has been consolidated by the “Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation“ signed by President Heydar Aliyev during his last official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran and President Khatami, he said.
The Academician further told of the scientific background of President Mohammad Khatami, his scientific publications and made a comparative analysis of Khatami’s “Dialogue of Civilizations” and Samuel Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations”. He said: unlike Samuel Huntington, who predicts conflict, wars and bloodsheds for the humankind in the future, Mr. Khatami describes mutual understanding and cooperation as the only acceptable way, and offers the dialogue of civilizations, contrary to the denial of the system of opposite values by the West and the East, he put forward a new socio-political reality - consolidation pf religious democracy.
Considering all these aspects, Presidium of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences has decided to award a Diploma of Honorary Doctor of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences to President of Islamic Republic of Iran Mr. Seyed Mohammad Khatami.
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Academician Mahmud Karimov presented the Diploma and mantle of Honorary Doctor to President Mohammad Khatami.
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President of Islamic Republic of Iran Mr. Seyed Mohammad Khatami made a speech at the ceremony. He thanked the Most High for the given opportunity to visit friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan, and expressed gratitude to the Academy for the award.
President Khatami focused on the politics-science relations, significance of the opinions exchange between politicians during scientific forums, and their addresses to the scientific communities. According to him, the theory of dialogue has always been built on an active partnership. But can every conversation, hearing and answering, be defined as a true dialogue, he asked.
Sharing his ideas Mr. Khatami stressed that it is not so easy to reach mutual understanding. It is enough to pay just a little attention to the obstacles in reaching mutual understanding to realize how long and unique this process is, and the most important things, which are realized due to the mutual understanding and with the help of language, religion and history, when being simplified, change themselves into an instrument for creating misunderstanding, the Iranian President said.
In conclusion, President Mohammad Khatami stressed that the need for dialogue is much greater today than ever before.
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President of the Azerbaijan National Academy Mahmud Karimov presented memorial gifts to the Iranian President.
For his part, President Mohammad Khatami presented the Divan by the famous Azerbaijani poet Shah Ismail Khatai published in Iran in Latin alphabet to the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.
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Present at the ceremony were Chief of the President Administration’s Department for Humanitarian Policy Fatma Abdullazadeh, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Teheran Abbasali Hasanov, Ambassador of Iran to Azerbaijan Ahad Gazai and other officials.
