Svetlana Smirnova: "Azerbaijan made great contribution to victory over fascism"

The Days of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly in Azerbaijan were held in Baku last week. First Deputy Secretary General and Head of the General Secretariat of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly Svetlana Smirnova told Vestnik Kavkaza about the outcome of this event.

- Could you tell us in more detail about the Days of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly held in Baku?

- From September 29 to October 5, an international delegation of the Eurasian Peoples 'Assembly visited Baku, where we held the days of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly in the Republic of Azerbaijan. We have such a practice - holding the Assembly days in different countries, we have already visited France, India, the UAE, Serbia, Bulgaria and Mongolia. This time a representative delegation of 75 people arrived in Azerbaijan, including our co-chairs from France and India, Assembly members from Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and other countries.

Within a week, we held several thematic forums on culture, education and youth. The official opening of the days of the Assembly in Azerbaijan and the meeting of the Presidium of the General Council of the Assembly took place at the International Mugham Center. Azerbaijan State University of Economics has become the venue for the educational forum. Azerbaijan National Conservatory hosted the Eurasian Youth Forum titled 'New Generation of Eurasia', and the Institute of Geography of Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences hosted a panel discussion on Caspian cooperation titled 'Sea of Friendship and Cooperation and Caspian Integration'.

During this time, our organization has acquired new partners and new members. Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in Azerbaijan took an active part in our work, together we held two panel discussions on Eurasia volunteers and the 50th anniversary of the Higher Komsomol School. Many graduates of the Higher Komsomol school live in Azerbaijan, graduates from Turkmenistan and other countries also arrived to the meeting, and everyone recalled the university years with warm feelings. In general, such forums show how much people of different nationalities want to communicate and be friends. We still have a lot in common, and we need to continue to connect people.

- What role does Azerbaijan play in Eurasian cooperation?

- The role of Azerbaijan is certainly significant. It is not part of the Eurasian Economic Union, but is part of a large Eurasian space, being one of the Caspian states. Therefore, we are considering cooperation with Azerbaijan in different directions.

- What do you remember most about Azerbaijan?

- Azerbaijan was remembered most for its hospitality, cordiality, magnificent nature, beautiful weather, national cuisine and national color.

I would like to add that we also held the 'Preserving the memory of World War II and Great Patriotic War' international public forum in Baku. Although there were no battles on the territory of Azerbaijan, the republic made a great contribution to the victory over fascism. At the forum, a proposal was made to award Baku the title of 'Home-Front Hero City' for his contribution to the Great Victory.

It is very pleasant that today, at the panes session on the Altai vector of Eurasian civilization, I heard the same proposal. So we are moving on the right way. Both Baku and other cities, including those in Europe, should be recognized for having contributed to the Great Victory.