― 13 мая 2025 г.

Secretary General Sultan Raev attended the presentation of Sandor Lezsák's book in Nakhchivan

On May 13th, 2025, Mr. Sultan Raev, the Secretary General of the International Organisation for Turkic Culture TURKSOY, attended a special event held at the Nakhchivan State University  to introduce works by Sandor Lezsák, the Deputy Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly and world-renowned author.

This meaningful event which took place at the library of the Nakhchivan State University and demonstrated the depth of cultural and literary ties between Hungary and the Turkic World was attended by the Ambassador of Hungary to Azerbaijan, representatives of the John von Neumann University, representatives of the Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, members of parliament, authors and members of the academic community of the university.

In the speech he delivered at the event, TURKSOY Secretary General Raev expressed his appreciation as to the strong contribution of Hungary to activities carried out by TURKSOY and said: ‘Our Hungarian friend, the esteemed author and statesman Mr. Sandor Lezsák, is not only a valuable friend of Hungarian literature but also of the Turkic World. His works reflect the voice of his people and bear the traces of intercultural solidarity.’

Secretary General Raev also touched upon  the spiritual meaninfulness of  being in Nakhchivan, the ancient land of Azerbaijan saying: ‘It is a great honour for me to be in the homeland of Heydar Aliyev.’

Emphasising that shared cultural values are at the heart of TURKSOY's activities, Secretary General Raev who also drew attention to the cultural importance of Nakhchivan further added:

‘Throughout my visit here in Nakhchivan, I have been deeply impressed by the extent to which Turkic culture is being kept alive, preserved and passed on to future generations.’.

Within the framework of the event, the author Sandor Lezsák who shared his literary journey and the background of his works with the audience also touched upon his  novel ‘Breath for Life’ and the theatre play based thereon. Mr. Lezsák donated his books to the library of the Nakhchivan State University.

At the event, TURKSOY Secretary General Raev also offered some of the selected publications from the Organisation's archives to the university. The event went on with artistic performances of students from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Nakhchivan State University  who took the scene with the traditional ‘Yallı’ dance prior to the ‘Ensemble of Traditional Instruments’  which were both highly appreciated by all  attending guests.

TURKSOY further remains committed to the strengthening of its cooperation with valuable partners such as Hungary in order to  preserve, promote and share our common historical and cultural heritage with friendly nations.