SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, June 30. A communiqué has been signed at the First Meeting of Heads of State Bodies on Religious Affairs of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) held in Shusha city, Trend's Karabakh bureau reports from the event.
The 11-point communiqué outlines the institutional foundations of cooperation between the bodies and future directions of joint action.
The document reflects provisions on the development of state-religious relations between Turkic states on the basis of the principles of secularism, the expansion of exchange of experience in the religious field, the strengthening of cooperation in the field of religious education, the upbringing of youth in the spirit of national and spiritual values, the increase of the role of women in strengthening the family institution, as well as the strengthening of religious enlightenment in the digital information environment.
In addition, the communiqué expressed support for the restoration of historical, religious, and cultural heritage in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. The document also emphasized the importance of promoting inter-sectarian understanding and Islamic solidarity in the Turkic geography, the promotion of the Turkic-Islamic cultural heritage at the international level, and the strengthening of the joint fight against religious radicalism, extremism, terrorism, Islamophobia, and other destructive manifestations.
The communiqué expressed gratitude to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Government of Azerbaijan for the high-level organization of the event, the created conditions, as well as to the OTS Secretariat for its contribution to coordinating the meeting.
The event ended with adopting a decision to hold the next meeting in Kazakhstan in 2027.
