To the participants in the 4th Islamic Conference of Ministers in charge of Childhood of ISESCO member states

Dear participants in the conference!

I sincerely welcome you all and wish each of you a long life and strong health and the conference success in its work. I hope that this conference being held in the Azerbaijani capital Baku will influence the deepening of mutually beneficial relations and the expansion of productive cooperation between member countries of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and make its worthy contribution to the resolution of problems of children and urbanization in the Islamic world. Urbanization, which is taking on a large scale at the time of globalization, requires a solution to numerous problems that have emerged in every country.

Under the state programmes being implemented in connection with the development of regions in Azerbaijan, the infrastructure, ecological environment and relevant social institutions of cities take into account the needs of all strata of the population, including children. The work being carried out in this sphere will certainly continue in the future.

Ensuring the rights of children to health, education and harmonious development is one of the main priorities in the development of the democratic society in the modern period. As a result of the state policy being pursued in the Azerbaijan Republic, a favourable environment has taken shape for solving problems in all spheres of children’s rights, including problems caused by urbanization, and specific programmes and projects are being implemented in this sphere.

The position Islamic countries have been taking on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the relevant decisions they have adopted on the protection of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan are highly valued in our country. The restoration of the main rights of one million of our countrymen, who lost their homes as a result of this conflict and are forced to live as refugees and displaced persons, also means ensuring of their children’s rights. There is no doubt that our joint efforts will bear fruit in this field.

The strategy of sustainable development requires the strengthening of the activities of various international organizations, including ISESCO, in order to resolve issues related to children’s rights and urbanization. I am confident that your conference will pay attention to all these issues, conduct extensive discussions and take important steps in order to implement deliberate measures aimed at resolving them.

Kindest regards,

Ilham Aliyev,
President of the Azerbaijan Republic

Baku, 8 November 2013