On July 30, the Minister of Culture, Adil Karimli, had a meeting with a delegation led by Li Qun, the Vice-Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China and the Head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, who was invited to our country by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Chinese delegation included Ding Tao, charge d'affaires of the embassy of this country in Azerbaijan, Li LiuSan, Director-General of the
Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, and other officials.Welcoming the delegation, the Minister spoke about the relations between Azerbaijan and China. He emphasized that the two countries have established wide-ranging cooperation based on mutual interests and trust, guided by the political will of the leaders of our countries. A new era in relations between Azerbaijan and China began with the adoption of the Joint Declaration on the Establishment of Strategic Partnership by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana on July 3.
Stressing the importance of cultural cooperation in growing relations, Adil Karimli noted that Azerbaijan is interested in further developing relations in various cultural fields. The Minister mentioned that his visit to China in September 2023 left a strong impression and emphasized the importance of the meetings for future cooperation.
Li Qun, the head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China, expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and his satisfaction with the elevation of the relationship between the two countries to a strategic partnership.
Providing information on the Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia, or ACHA, the head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration said that the organization has implemented 15 programs in various directions.
Li Qun stressed the importance of Azerbaijan's participation in the specialized structures of ACHA and suggested that our country should host the 4th Conference of the Alliance. He mentioned that the Alliance, which has extensive experience in the field of underwater heritage research, could carry out a project in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. He also expressed interest in Azerbaijan's experience in digital monitoring of cultural heritage.
The meeting emphasized the importance of reciprocal tours by artists and creative teams from both countries. The sides discussed the development of road maps and memoranda on cultural cooperation. China submitted draft memoranda to the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan. Li Qun mentioned that the signing of the memoranda in Beijing next year would be beneficial for the cooperation between the two countries. Moreover, the head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration expressed his hope to see an Azerbaijani gallery in the famous 798 Art Zone cultural complex in China.
During the meeting, it was brought to the delegation's attention that Azerbaijan will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in November. It was emphasized that COP29 will address cultural perspectives on climate change and discuss the role of culture in environmental protection. The importance of China's participation in this prestigious event was stressed.
The two sides then discussed other issues of mutual interest. At the end, they exchanged gifts and took photos together.
