Today, a conference dedicated to strengthening the international cooperation of NGOs, organized jointly with the State Support Agency for Non-Governmental Organizations and ADA University, was held at ADA University.
Ednews reports that officials of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Support Agency for Non-Governmental Organizations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ADA University, the Centre for the Analysis of International Relations, NGO leaders and members of the media participated in the conference.
President of the International Eurasia Press Fund Umud Mizayev also spoke at the conference. He first expressed his sadness about the earthquake that happened in Turkiye.
"We tried to show our support for what happened in Turkiye from the very first day. As IEPF, we have donated about 60 thousand Turkish lira to the victims of the earthquake. This is also the activity of the Azerbaijan Non-Governmental Organizations community."
During his speech, U. Mirzayev also spoke about the history, international relations and activities of the International Eurasia Press Fund:
"The main goal of the IEPF, which was established in 1992, was to convey the problems of Azerbaijan to the international community, not only in Azerbaijan, but outside the country. One of our main missions was to organize the visits of foreign journalists and diplomats to the conflict regions and to support the dissemination of objective information from those places. About 20 students with whom I studied together gathered in Moscow and formed this organization and registered it in Azerbaijan. From the beginning of the conflicts in the 1990s to the mid-2000s, we organized the visit of more than a hundred journalists to Azerbaijan. Herein our internal capabilities played major role. IEPF has had close cooperation with about 30 international organizations so far. Last year, we signed a memorandum of cooperation with "Al-Jazeera" media network. At the same time, we signed a memorandum with "Roots of Peace", one of the most influential organizations in the world. I should also mention that our Zoom meeting took place online at the initiative of the leadership of the "Nelson Mandela Human Rights" organization. A memorandum is expected to be signed between IEPF and the institution.
In 2007, IEPF received the status of Special Consultative to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and in January 2014, it became the General Consultative. We have been inclined to cooperate with international organizations since the first day. We participated in important international events. We have organized numerous parallel sessions, seminars and events in the Geneva and New York offices of the UN. IEPF is also a member of the International Press Institute, the European Council for Refugees and Asylum Seekers, the International Peace Bureau, the AMPED organization. In addition, IEPF is a partner organization of the Private Partnership program of the US State Department.
Umud Mirzayev noted that today 14 NGOs in our country have consultative status in ECOSOC.
"As the only NGO with General consultative status, we have always assisted other organizations in obtaining membership and tried to show our support. It is very gratifying that we had a little help in this success of the NGOs that have that status today. We should make efforts and work harder to increase the number of such NGOs. I am very happy that we had a small role in these 14 organizations gaining consultative status. We should make efforts and work harder to increase the number of such NGOs.
In conclusion, a special information booklet and a video clip, translated and printed by IEPF, which will help NGOs to obtain consultative status in the UN ECOSOC, were presented.