Head of CE Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage to visit Azerbaijan

As APA reports, Yashar Huseynli, director of cooperation with international organizations and programs sector of Culture and Tourism Ministry represented Azerbaijan at the meeting.

The Kyiv Initiative is based on the experience of the project "Support for Transition in the Arts and Culture in Greater Europe" (STAGE), carried out between 2000 and 2005. It is a comprehensive follow-up of the STAGE project which ended in 2005 - intends to contribute through action and policies in culture and heritage to democratic development and dialogue in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The STAGE project intends to contribute to cultural tourism, cinematography, legislative, financial and managing support in these fields.

"This project will enable Azerbaijan to have multiple and bilateral cooperation with the Council of Europe and the participant countries, except Armenia. Azerbaijan’s has voiced its official position in the framework of this program. Thus Azerbaijan will not cooperate with Armenia until it withdraws from the occupied Azerbaijani lands. The importance of the Kyiv Initiative and Azerbaijan’s official position there were uttered during Minister Abulfas Garayev's visit to the Council of Europe in April this year," he said.

Husyenli also said Azerbaijan has started the implementation of the Kyiv Initiative, and the Alexander Duma in the Caucasus project, which is accepted as the COE project at the initiative of the Ministry is being implemented successfully.

"At yesterday meeting, we also discussed strategic framework and action plan and also budget issues for 2006-2009 related to the Kyiv Initiative," Huseynli said.

The sector director also said Robert Palmer, Director of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Council of Europe is expected to visit Azerbaijan related to this project in late September and early October.

Official inauguration of the Kyiv Initiative will be held in Romania in autumn this year.