On May 18th, an official opening ceremony of the 3rd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue titled “Sharing Culture for Shared Security” was held in Baku.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva attended the opening ceremony.

The head of state made a speech at the event.

High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani, and Director General of Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri addressed the ceremony.

Advisor to the UNWTO Secretary-General on Tourism and Peace, Regional Director for the Middle East Amr Abdel-Ghaffar read out a congratulatory message of UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

The opening ceremony was followed by the launch of “Agree to Differ” book, a landmark publication on the International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures, co-published by UNESCO and Tudor Rose.

President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva attended the ceremony.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova made a speech at the event.

Director-General Irina Bokova handed a document certifying the inclusion of Azerbaijani Kelaghayi in UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to first lady, UNESCO goodwill ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva.

International partner organizations were awarded the symbol of the forum.

In conclusion a picture was taken.

AZERTAC