Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 113 ] — CLOSING CEREMONY — Being an outstanding platform for interreligious and inter- cultural dialogue, KAICIID makes great efforts to achieve goals relevant to the modern world. Indeed, the maintenance and preservation of peace, which is germane to all of today’s problems, requires close cooperation between public figures, including state and religious leaders. Human life has the greatest value of all of the Lord’s creations, and its salvation is dependent on the humanistic spiritual values inspired by traditional religions, through collaboration and dialogue. Regarding the matter of the peaceful coexistence of peoples of various cultures and religions in one society of common citizenship, I would like to draw your kind attention to the model of Azerbaijan. Multiculturalism is a lifestyle in our multinational and multiconfessional country. Azerbaijan enjoys a justly established relationship between state and religion. National and religious tolerance, which is one of the UN-backed values, and a crucial element of civil society and real democracy, is supported at state level. President Ilham Aliyev considers the ethnic and religious diversity of our country to be a national treasure. Religious freedom, and the democratic rights of people of different ethnic and religious affiliations, are fixed and ensured by law. Correctly established relations between state and religion are basic terms of a successful multicultural and tolerant society