An international webinar on the Non-Aligned Movement and the Covid-19 pandemic was organized by the Center of Analysis of International Relations. The moderator of the webinar, Chairman of the AIR Center Farid Shafiyev recalled the virtual summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, organized in May this year on the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev. He said that this event was an important one in the history of the organization, creating conditions for its strengthening and adequate response to the coronavirus crisis. Drawing attention to the convening of a special session of the UN General Assembly on the initiative of Azerbaijan, Farid Shafiyev said that this initiative is of special importance for the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement and contributes to strengthening the global role of the movement.

Khalid Taimur Akram, Director of the Centre for Global & Strategic Studies of Pakistan, said that the Non-Aligned Movement plays an important role in building international cooperation and solidarity in the face of various crises facing the world. Taimur Akram voiced various proposals to strengthen the movement and expressed confidence that the Non-Aligned Movement's media forum and meeting of Economy Ministers would be useful for member states.

Vasif Huseynov, Senior Adviser at the AIR Center, said that the members of the Non-Aligned Movement appreciate the initiatives of the President of Azerbaijan, who is the chairman of the organization in 2019-2022, to combat the pandemic. According to him, among these initiatives, the proposal to hold a special session of the UN General Assembly should be noted: "This initiative, which was opposed by Armenia alone, was supported by more than 130 countries."

Speaking about the impact of the pandemic on the conflicts between the states, Dr. Huseynov drew attention to the July events on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, noting that one of the reasons for the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan was the internal crisis within the country. According to him, with this provocation, the Armenian ruling circle aimed to divert attention from other problems in hopes of preventing the economic difficulties of the country from causing an irresistible political crisis.

Speaking next, Jauhen Zadrucki, a spokesman for the Belarusian Center for Strategic Studies, said the coronavirus pandemic should not be allowed to cause harm on international trade, investment and so on. According to him, his country appreciates the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement in this regard and the initiatives of Azerbaijan as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Zadrucki also said that the Non-Aligned Movement's virtual summit this year and the subsequent meeting of Health Ministers from member countries have demonstrated the organization's overall activism and increased international interest in it.

The webinar continued with a question and answer session.