Azerbaijani official urges collaboration in Turkic states diaspora

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Lauding Türkiye as the “main power,” an official from Azerbaijan said Turkic states diaspora communities have increased meetings among themselves which would help them in many areas.

Fuad Muradov, chairman of Azerbaijan's State Committee on Affairs with Diaspora, told Anadolu Agency that Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Turkic states have held more than 10 bilateral and multilateral meetings regarding diaspora communities.

Referring to Azerbaijan’s agreements with Türkiye’s Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), Muradov said the next meeting of the two groups and respective ministers from Turkic states will be held in Baku.

“We will discuss the future of Turkic states’ (diaspora activities) … then we have to declare a plan, a roadmap which we actually prepared two years ago,” he said.

Turkic languages-speaking and ethnic groups are spread across West, Central, East and North Asia as well as parts of Europe and along with Türkiye and Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have formed the Organization of Turkic States.

Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have observer status in the multinational organization.

“Of course, the main power here is Türkiye because Türkiye started this (working with diaspora) process many, many years ago and by this plan we should have more Saturday-Sunday schools; we should have more meetings between Azerbaijani diaspora, Turkish diaspora and also Turkic states diaspora,” said Muradov.

Muradov was in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul where he hosted a meeting Friday of scientists, academics and professionals from the Azerbaijani diaspora.

He said diaspora communities of Turkic states have held “two big meetings and we will continue in this direction.”

Thanking Türkiye and its government “for support,” the Azerbaijani official said YTB President Abdullah Eren has “always supported our initiatives.”

“This a good sign of our brotherhood but also this is the sign how in the future we should collaborate with other states as well,” he said, adding: “We feel the support always.”

- Azerbaijani diaspora professionals bring experience, knowledge

Muradov said Azerbaijan counts around 50 million people across the world “of whom 10 million living in Azerbaijan and 40 million abroad.”

However, he added that the number “may change but the main point is that many of them are fully integrated” with host nations.

It was four years ago, said Muradov, that Azeri scientists living abroad decided to “create links among all our scientists” in the diaspora “who decided that this is a very good potential and we should use it.”

“And after that, we had the (Nagorno-Karabakh) war (in 2021) to liberate our territories (from Armenia),” he said.

“(Then) we again reviewed the program and started one year (later),” Muradov said of the Azeri diaspora across continents. “The big potential which we have now cover more than 70 countries.”

He said professors and academics living abroad are “trying to help Azerbaijan in different ways … using the knowledge and experience which they gain during their life in other countries.”

In April, Azerbaijan's State Committee on Affairs with Diaspora held a “Victory Assembly” with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Muradov said more than 400 people from the Azeri diaspora community from different parts of the world attended the assembly.

“Among them is a group of academicians and scientists and professors who decided to organize among themselves in order to support Azerbaijan, in order to support young, talented people, in order to support students who are studying and living abroad,” he said.

The official added that the Istanbul meeting discussed preparations for the “next meeting.”

“Together with Azerbaijani governmental support, we believe that next year we (will) have a big forum, and this forum of the world Azerbaijani scientists (will) declare ideas for supporting Azerbaijani,” he said.

Muradov said the aim of the organizing diaspora community is to “support young, talented people, supporting Azerbaijan, because Azerbaijan has now become a hub for innovation, became a hub of logistics and infrastructure projects.”

“That is why it is very important to use new technologies, new knowledge and new ideas and our professors and academicians living abroad can bring it (ideas) to Azerbaijan,” he said.

Muradov, however, said in some places, “we (Azeri diaspora) have some problems regarding access to the Azerbaijani language.”

Referring to concerns shared by Aliyev, the official said: “President Ilham Aliyev underlined this problem and this is a guideline for us and for our diaspora to improve the situation with access to the Azerbaijani language and Azerbaijani culture and so on.”

He said the Istanbul meeting of the diaspora community will send out a message “to all countries to improve access to Azerbaijani living abroad to the Azerbaijani language.”