Mrs Billura Bernard, the President of Friends
of Azerbaijan Organisation in Nigeria, on Wednesday said that the
newly-inaugurated organisation would promote friendship and cultural
exchanges between Nigerians and Azerbaijanis.
Bernard also told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the
organisation, recently inaugurated in Lagos, would also be a platform
for promoting Azerbaijani culture to Nigerians and non-Azerbaijanis
globally.
“We are happy to announce that we just recently inaugurated the
Friends of Azerbaijan Organisation in Nigeria. It is a non- profit and
non-political organisation for bringing Nigerians and Azerbaijanis
together.
“This organisation is meant to create a platform for the advancement
of Azerbaijani culture with other countries. And, it is meant to begin
to promote cultural relations between our two countries.
“We are also going to be using this organisation for
harnessing, showcasing and promoting exchanges between young Nigerians
and Azerbaijan’s talented artists,’’ she said.
Bernard, who noted the current “inadequate relationship’’ between
Nigerians and Azerbaijanis, expressed optimism that the organisation
would stir mutually beneficial relations between the two nations.
The president also said that the organisation would enhance a free
flow of information between Nigerians and Azerbaijanis, who had always
wanted to be friends or become business partners.
She added that the organisation was in a position to exhibit Nigeria’s
rich culture and food to Azerbaijanis, as well as those of her country
to Nigerians.
The president said that already, many Nigerians, who had tasted
Azerbaijani food, and the exhibition of her cultural displays in Lagos,
had become eager for more exchanges between the both countries.
She also said that there was currently a growing interest of
Azerbaijanis, especially the young artists, to visit Nigeria, to meet and
perform on stage with their Nigerian counterparts.
Bernard, who noted that there were currently few Azerbaijanis in
Nigeria, expressed optimism that the organisation would create the
right platform for more relationships between the two countries.
The president, who disclosed her plan to organise a visit of Nigerians
to Azerbaijan early in 2018, also said that both countries had trade and
economic opportunities to exploit in the future.
Azerbaijan is one of the republics in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
It has diplomatic relations with Nigeria.
