Days of Culture of Kazakhstan were held in Azerbaijan

The Days of Culture of Kazakhstan in Azerbaijan were held in Baku with great success, TurkicWorld reports.

The instruction to hold mutual days of culture in order to strengthen Kazakh-Azerbaijani relations was given this year by the Heads of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Ilham Aliyev.

The events were attended by Minister of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aida Balayeva and Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan Alim Bayel.

Within the framework of the Days of Culture, a solo concert of the ethno-folklore group “Hassak” and a screening of the play “Karagez” staged by the Kazakh State Academic Theater named after Gabit Musrepov took place.

The final cultural events were held on December 4, 2023 at the Heydar Aliyev Center. An exhibition of fine arts of Kazakhstan was opened here, which presented an exposition of 46 unique works by young Kazakhstani artists working in different genres and styles.

Minister A. Balayeva noted that the exhibition is a visualization of the cultural revival of the two peoples. Along with traditional forms of fine art such as painting, graphics, embroidery, decorative and applied arts, new types of installations and art objects were presented at the exhibition.

Asel Sabyrzhankyzy was among the artists who exhibited their works. The young artist uses a unique technique of painting on carpets. In particular, she created 14 images of women from Turkic history. After visiting the Carpet Museum of Azerbaijan and being inspired by what she saw, she painted a portrait of the outstanding poet Khurshidbanu Natavan. The portrait was presented to the Chairman of the Mejlis of Azerbaijan.

The Days of Culture ended with a grand gala concert of the masters of art of Kazakhstan. The event was attended by the Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova, ministers, Chairman of the Caucasus Muslim Board, deputies, ambassadors of foreign states, heads of international organizations, many prominent figures of culture, science and art.

In her welcoming speech, the Minister of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan stressed that Azerbaijan is a good neighbor, a faithful friend and a brotherly country for Kazakhstan. She noted that together we are developing and strengthening the Turkic world. Aida Balayeva expressed her sincere gratitude to the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Adil Kerimli and the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan Alim Bayel, as well as their teams for their full assistance in holding the Days of Culture at a high level.

The gala concert was attended by People’s Artist of Kazakhstan Roza Rymbaeva, knight of the Order of “Kurmet” Zarina Altynbayeva, Honored Workers of Kazakhstan Alisher Karimov, Medet Chotabayev, Aigerim Beketayeva, the State Dance Ensemble “Saltanat”, collectives “IL Canto”, “Violas”, “T&Y”, the Azerbaijani State Song and Dance Ensemble named after Fikret Amirov, the Ulytau group and the Sazgen Sazy ensemble. The concert was met with a standing ovation from the Azerbaijani public.

Official meetings were also held within the framework of the Days of Culture. Prospects of bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture and information were discussed at a meeting with Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev.

“Strategic relations with Kazakhstan are a priority for Azerbaijan. The cinematographic experience of Kazakhstan is of particular interest to us. Animation has also received good development, especially on historical topics,” Hajiyev said during the meeting. A. Balayeva promised to provide support in this area. Thus, the archives of the Shaken Aimanov Kazakhfilm National Film Studio, animated films, and the content of the Balapan children’s channel will be transferred to Azerbaijan.

The Minister also supported the initiative of H. Gadzhieva on holding an international media forum on countering fake information. The parties also discussed the issues of broadcasting Kazakh TV channels “Balapan”, “Khabar 24”, “Qazaqstan” in the networks of cable operators of Azerbaijan and broadcasting in Kazakhstan of the Azerbaijani TV channel CBC TV.

A. Balayeva also met with the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Adil Kerimli. “Our countries are successfully developing mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of culture. We are interested in strengthening the work on creating animated films, conducting research projects, developing scientific tourism, cultural volunteerism, book publishing, in particular the translation of fiction from Kazakh into Azerbaijani and from Azerbaijani into Kazakh, conducting master classes for our young artists with the participation of Azerbaijani masters,” A. Balayeva said at the meeting.

In turn, Adil Kerimli thanked his colleague for the rich cultural program prepared for the Azerbaijani audience. The parties discussed a roadmap covering cooperation in the fields of culture, archives, information, volunteerism and youth policy.

During the meeting with the Chairman of the Board of Muslims of the Caucasus, Allahshukur Pashazade, issues of spiritual interaction were discussed. The meeting was attended by Chairman of the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations Mubariz Gurbanli, Vice Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Fazail Ibrahimli, as well as deputies, intellectuals and representatives of various religious denominations.

A. Balayeva told the audience about the transformations taking place in Kazakhstan under the leadership of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and expressed confidence that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan will continue fruitful cooperation in all spheres.

In turn, Sheikh Pashazade stressed the importance of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. He noted that he is a regular participant and visits Kazakhstan with great pleasure every time. Pashazade highlighted the Congress in Astana as a special dialogue platform that brings together religious, state and public figures.

Within the framework of the events, a meeting was also held with the Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan Farid Gaibov. The parties discussed the prospects for cooperation in the field of youth policy.

In 2024, it is planned to hold Days of Culture of Azerbaijan in Kazakhstan.

writing by Mustafa Ghanim