10:36

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement Ilham Aliyev addressed the participants in the Conference on the Development of Women's Rights and Empowerment of Women of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Axar.az reports that the application states:

- Dear conference participants,

For the first time in the history of the Non-Aligned Movement, I welcome you to the Conference on "Development of Women's Rights and Empowerment".

By the unanimous decision of the member states, Azerbaijan was elected the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, which is the second largest international organization after the UN, in 2019. The unanimous extension of the term of our chairmanship for another year until 2023 is an indication of the high value given to the activities of Azerbaijan within the Movement. We appreciate this trust in our country.

During the presidency of Azerbaijan, adhering to the Bandung Principles, it made important efforts to advance the agenda of the Non-Aligned Movement and increase its influence in the international world.

It should be noted that it was the Non-Aligned Movement that played a leading role in mobilizing global efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, a special session of the UN General Assembly devoted to the fight against COVID-19 was organized at the initiative of Azerbaijan.

We did not remain silent on the policy of "vaccine nationalism" carried out by some countries and promoted a fair distribution of vaccines. Based on humanist values, Azerbaijan provided financial and humanitarian assistance to more than 80 countries, most of which are member states of the Non-Aligned Movement. In addition, this year, Azerbaijan made a decision to allocate financial resources in order to eliminate the consequences of the pandemic in Africa and developing small island states.

During our chairmanship, important steps were taken towards the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement. The Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Youth Organization of the Non-Aligned Movement were established at the initiative of Azerbaijan. During the conference of the Movement held in Baku in July of this year, I proposed the establishment of the Women's Platform of the Non-Aligned Movement.