On December 31 all the the Azerbaijanis around the world celebrate the Day of Solidarity.
This day was first announced on December 16, 1991 by the national leader Heydar Aliyev. In 1992, the Parliament of Azerbaijan declared December 31 Day of Solidarity of Azerbaijanis. Since 1993, in accordance with the decree of the President of the country on December 31, it has been known as the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis. Various countries around the world are now hosting home to several tens of millions of Azerbaijanis. The Azerbaijani Diaspora is widely represented in Turkey, Iran, the CIS countries, Germany, the US and others. The biggest Azerbaijani diaspora lives in Russia.
In his congratulatory message, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said that "this holiday reflects the commitment of our compatriots to their homeland and the ideology of Azerbaijanism, respect of our people for their past and national and spiritual values. This day has become an important part of our historical memory."
"Our compatriots abroad are expanding their position in the societies of their countries of residence, they are taking effective measures to promote Azerbaijan in the world, promoting our rich culture, as well as for the treacherous plans of certain forces against our country and people," the president said. "Our Diaspora organizations should continue to strengthen their efforts to carry out a more targeted and flexible operation in terms of cooperation with relevant government agencies and diplomatic missions of Azerbaijan in foreign countries," the message of the President says.
This holiday is celebrated not only in Azerbaijan but also in other countries.
Azerbaijani Embassy in Uzbekistan holds ceremony on the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis
Activists of the Azerbaijani diaspora in Uzbekistan were invited to a reception at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center named after Heydar Aliyev in Tashkent. The event was also attended by representatives of science, culture and art of Uzbekistan, members of the diaspora, members of the public and the media. The participants laid flowers at the monument to Heydar Aliyev set in front of the cultural center. Uzbekistan is home to about 40 thousand representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora. In addition to the cultural center of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev, the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan has seven Azerbaijani national cultural centers.
In Kiev, a gala evening was organized by the Embassy of Azerbaijan. In his opening remarks, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Ukraine Eynulla Madatli emphasized the importance of this holiday. The reception was attended by representatives of Azerbaijan's state-owned companies in the Ukraine, the United Diaspora of Ukrainian Azerbaijanis and members of the international public organization "Institute Azerbaijanism."
In Helsinki, the organizational support of the Azerbaijani-Finnish society "Dostlug" held a festive evening. It was attended by members of the Azerbaijani diaspora, employees of the Finnish Foreign Ministry and members of Tatar, Turkish and Russian companies.
