As the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, said, surviving an epidemic dictates global solidarity.

On the initiative of Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), it was proposed to hold a special session of the UN General Assembly in the format of a video conference at the level of heads of state and government against the pandemic on behalf of NAM Member States. This initiative was supported by both the NAM countries and other UN States. Now President Ilham Aliyev's initiative to organize a special session of the UN General Assembly becomes a reality. The President of Azerbaijan made this proposal during the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement under the theme of “Together against COVID-19” 2 months ago, on May 4. Up to 130 countries supported to Mr. Ilham Aliyev's initiative and informed the Office of the UN Secretary General. The Secretary-General expressed his full support for this initiative on July 8, during a telephone conversation between the President and António Guterres. World countries which have been helpless in the fight against the global pandemic for months cannot escape the crisis. The devastating effects of the coronavirus on societies and the serious decline of the economy and trade are clearly visible. All of these deepen the existing problem even more. The experts consider that escaping the global problem dictates a number of terms and one of them is the international solidarity in the fight against virus. It is a historic event that 130 out of 193 UN member states support the initiative of Azerbaijan and its President. The support of initiative should be assessed as a world-class event. Thus, the initiative of Mr. President is a great benefit to every country. Therefore, this initiative is not object of discussion. The object of discussion is that it was initiated by Azerbaijan and its President. The question is whether other countries could not take this initiative? After all, there are great powers, members of the UN Security Council, developed countries. Analyzing all of these, we should note with regret that there is a crisis in international organizations, self-closure in countries. The initiative of the President of Azerbaijan is very useful at such a time. Because a number of countries are cooperating, leaving aside competition as a result of Azerbaijan's policy and initiative. The President of Azerbaijan, who took preventive measures and made important decisions did more than create local examples to prevent the coronavirus within the country when the global pandemic is spreading from far away China to the rest of the world. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, who heads both the Non-Aligned Movement and the Turkic Council called on the world community to increase global solidarity and international cooperation against the epidemic. The President initiated this goodwill, humanism in all his video conferencing meetings and Azerbaijan was ready to contribute in resolving technical and logistical issues related to the holding of such important session. First of all, should note that the support of 130 countries for the initiative of Mr. Ilham Aliyev should be considered as an indicator of trust, confidence and credit in the President of Azerbaijan. Due to significant practical contributions to the fight against the pandemic by the leaders of international organizations, the appreciation of the activity of the President of Azerbaijan, many thanks to him address are another visual indicator of the high prestige of our country and its leader in the international arena. During the telephone conversation, the Head of State emphasizing Azerbaijan's support for the efforts of the Secretary General and the United Nations, including multilateral cooperation, in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic reminded that Azerbaijan donated $10 million to the World Health Organization and provided humanitarian and financial assistance to more than 30 countries. He stressed the importance of the Secretary General's leadership played an important role on the convening of a special session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to COVID-19. The fight against pandemic and the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan are the humanitarian issue. Azerbaijan made important proposal on the humanitarian issue of global concern. So what Azerbaijan is always goodwill and can never take wrong steps. Those who claim the opposite are those biasing against our country. So, this event plays an important role for Azerbaijan. Mr. President's well-known initiative enhances our image in the world, raises the prestige of our country, strengthens our respect among the nations of the world. This initiative also enlarges the relations of Azerbaijan with the world countries. All of these increase our advantage in a fair settlement of the Karabakh conflict. This initiative is a great opportunity to get to know Azerbaijan better too. As a whole, it is a great event that the initiative of Mr. President was accepted at the world level and that the UN has come up as its own issue. The diplomacy pursued by President Ilham Aliyev is multifaceted. Therefore, we may witness new initiatives tomorrow. Although the current initiative is Azerbaijan, its execution is the work of the world. In all cases, history will write that the initiative to convene the UN General Assembly in the fight against the pandemic belongs to Azerbaijan and its President Ilham Aliyev. Invader Armenia tried to hinder the realization of Azerbaijan's goodwill initiative. But failed. Armenia hereby exposed itself. Armenia also denied itself protesting against a goodwill, an important humanitarian initiative. There is a logical basis for it. As Armenia has never been a state, statehood traditions. Armenia is a monoethnic country. Armenia isolated itself from the international fight against the pandemic at the level of international relations. Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan always exposes invader Armenia on important international platforms. The things that happened in Valdai, Munich and other international events confirm it once again.