Azerbaijan has been elected to UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Joint statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan:

The 7th General Assembly of the State Parties to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage is held at the UNESCO headquarters located in Paris, France, on June 4-6.

In the framework of the session, the elections were held at the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. In the 2^nd Group 7 states, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Macedonia have nominated their candidacy for two free seats. As a result of the wide-spread promotional campaign, Azerbaijan gained the largest number of votes among 90 candidates in the group and became a member of the Committee. Poland has been selected as the second with 52 votes.

We appreciate all the states that supported the candidacy of Azerbaijan to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Republic of Azerbaijan was represented at the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2010-2014 and the confidence shown to our country once again is another proof of Azerbaijan’s gained influence on the international level and at UNESCO.

The adoption of such an important decision for our country was a result of the support and care of the First Vice President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva, as well as the joint activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which show the development of our country's high level partnership with UNESCO. Thanks to Mehriban Aliyeva's support, Azerbaijan's 11 intangible cultural heritage samples, including mugham, ashig art, Azerbaijan's tar-performing arts, kamancha, lavash, kalagayi, etc. were inscribed to UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

During the period of 2018-2022, as a member of the Committee, Azerbaijan will spare no efforts to the protection of the intangible heritage of the world and share its rich experience, cooperating in the spirit of partnership with member states, and implementing the objectives of the Convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and will continue to strive supporting international efforts to promote international cultural heritage.