Baku hosts first meeting of Organizing Committee of 74th International Astronautical Congress

The Organizing Committee established by order of President Ilham Aliyev in connection with holding the 74th International Astronautical Congress to be held in Baku on October 2–6, 2023, has held its first meeting. The meeting, chaired by Ali Asadov, Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, was held on 10 January.

Opening the meeting, Ali Asadov, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, noted that the Congress, which was first held in Paris in 1950, is considered the world’s most prestigious space event. Given the scale and significance of the event, he stressed the importance of holding it at a high level.

It was noted that Azerbaijan hosted the International Astronautical Congress once, in 1973 and it was the first and only congress in the Soviet Union that was held in Baku thanks to the personal influence of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev at that time. It was emphasized that thanks to President Ilham Aliyev’s efforts, who successfully continues the comprehensive development course of the National Leader, it is symbolic that after 50 years, Azerbaijan as an independent state will once again host this prestigious event.

It was also noted that due to the thoughtful and far-sighted policy of the head of state, Azerbaijan has made significant progress in all spheres, as well as in the international arena, including in the field of modern technology and space industry, which are important and leading areas.

Over recent years, many prestigious international events have been organized in our country at a high level, which was characterized as one of the main factors that led to the selection of Baku as the venue for the next congress during the General Assembly in October 2019 in the U.S. capital, Washington D.C. by the International Astronautical Federation, which has great prestige in the world.

It was expressed confidence that all these achievements will create conditions for holding the congress at the highest level. To this end, an action plan for the holding of the congress was prepared and instructions were given to the Cabinet of Ministers for its implementation.

Then Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee Rashad Nabiyev made a presentation on the work done in preparation for the congress and the implementation of the Action Plan.

The meeting discussed the preparations for the Baku Congress, and appropriate instructions were given to the members of the Organizing Committee for timely and high-quality implementation of tasks outlined in the Action Plan.