Vice President of the Parliament of Montenegro Mr Suljo Mustafić participated in the Third World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, which was held in Baku, on 18 and 19 May.

This year’s forum was opened by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr Ilham Aliyev and on that occasion he emphasised the significance of education as a mechanism in a global fight against terrorism, extremism, and fundamentalism. He also highlighted the efforts of the Republic of Azerbaijan on strengthening European energy security and regional cooperation.
Vice President Mustafić was one of the keynote speakers at the Plenary Session on the topic “Dialogue as mechanism of building global trust”. On that occasion, Mr Mustafić pointed out that the world was witness to new conflict hotspots, conflicts without end in sight, which indicate that new energy was needed, created and emitted by these kind of gatherings.

- It is necessary to demonstrate that the world we live in has both the strength and the people who are firm in promoting dialogue and tenacious in building bridges between differences, and full of understanding and respect for different features of civilisation, said Mr Mustafić.  
He also pointed out that the role of individuals in a community was very important, especially in societies where the word of distinguished people who carry the strength of authority in their local communities is respected.

- Whether they are authorities, institutions, NGOs, they are always entities in which there are individuals who could turn the processes in a certain direction. That is why their role is important, in the strength of decisions, in the messages they spread, and in encouraging others to participate in positive processes, added Mr Mustafić.
Mr Mustafić pointed out that Montenegro was the only one of seven countries created from the former Yugoslavia which had not had any serious conflicts in its territory and which had been an isle of stability, while war and destruction had raged around it.  

-Montenegro has managed to come out of that without serious consequences and be a herald of coexistence and understanding, and the integration to which the area of the Balkans is being accustomed. Despite the tensions and incidents that happened, its differences survived in their areas lasting centuries, concluded Mr Mustafić.

This year’s Forum is organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan in cooperation with the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture “UNESCO”, UN Alliance of Civilizations, UN World Tourism Organization, Council of Europe, and ISESCO.

During his stay in Azerbaijan, Vice President Mustafić also held a bilateral meeting with Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr Valeh Asgarov, and Chair of Interparliamentary Friendship Group with the Parliament of Montenegro Mr İgbal Mammadov.
On that occasion they pointed out exceptionally good relations between the two countries which are primarily visible in the field of economy. It was pointed out that the economic cooperation was also followed by cooperation in the field of education, science, culture, and sports. Additionally, they welcomed the forming of a mixed committee which would work more concretely on promotion of cooperation, and in that sense they highlighted the need for adoption of bilateral agreements which would facilitate economic cooperation and ensure the increase in the number of sound investments.
They also pointed out the need for intensifying parliamentary cooperation through friendship groups, parliamentary committees, as well as sharing of experiences between the two parliaments.
In addition to Vice President Mustafić and a large number of high officials from countries worldwide, as well as international organisations, the participants in this year’s Forum included: Minister of Science at the Government of Montenegro Ms Sanja Vlahović, non-resident Ambassador of Montenegro to the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr Branko Milić, and representatives of the Ministry of Culture and the University of Montenegro.