Baku, November 6, AZERTAC

The Global Summit of Religious Leaders, themed “World Religions for a Green Planet,” held as part of the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, concluded in Baku on Wednesday.

Initiated and supported by President Ilham Aliyev, the summit was co-organized by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Committee on Work with Religious Institutions, the Muslim Council of Elders, the Caucasus Muslims Office, and the United Nations Environment Programme.

The two-day summit brought together nearly 30 leaders from world and traditional religions, heads of prominent religious centers, including patriarchs, officials from the Vatican and Al-Azhar, and notable religious and public figures from various continents and faiths.

The Summit’s second day featured plenary discussions moderated by Ravan Hasanov, Executive Director of the Baku International Multiculturalism Center (BIMC).

The speakers included Ahmed Bin Mohamed Aljarwan, President of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, Professor Akkan Suver, President of the Marmara Group Strategic and Social Research Foundation, Fidon Mwombeki, General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, Atik Ali, President of the National Forum for Cooperation of Religions in Finland, Milikh Yevdayev, Head of Azerbaijan’s Mountain Jews Community, and other officials.

They expressed concern over terror acts, violence on ethnic and religious grounds, environmental disasters, plundering and destroying cultural and religious heritage, acts of urbicide, ecocide, as well as their severe consequences, and negative impact on combating climate change.

They also expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for excellent organization of the Summit.

The event then saw the adoption of the Baku Declaration and the appeal of the religious leaders to the COP29 participants.

The summit also featured a press conference.

The Summit participants will also visit the Azerbaijani liberated territories on Thursday to familiarize themselves with the Azerbaijani realities, including the acts of ecocide, urbicide and culturcide committed by Armenia in these areas.