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Language Commission of the Azerbaijan Press Council to hold an expanded meeting

07 January 2026 11:20 (UTC +04:00)

An expanded meeting of the Language Commission of the Azerbaijan Press Council will be held on January 9 at 3:00 p.m. at the Azerbaijan Press Council, the Press Council told APA.

As is known, the commission was re-formed at the final meeting of the Press Council’s Board in 2025. With the Chair being Vusala Mahirgizi, CEO of APA Media Group, it was deemed appropriate for the commission to include other Board members: Aflatun Amashov, Editor-in-Chief of Khalg Gazeti; Gulu Maharramli, professor at Baku State University; Akif Ashirli, Editor-in-Chief of Sharg newspaper; as well as Elshan Aliyev, a member of the Council’s Audit and Inspection Commission and Editor-in-Chief of Vatan Sesi newspaper; and Seyfaddin Huseynli, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of 525-ji Gazet. At the same time, it was decided to take measures to involve linguist scholars in the work of the commission.”

Note that President Ilham Aliyev addressed sensitive issues related to the mother tongue both in his speech at the event dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences on November 3 last year and in his interview with local television channels on January 5 this year. In his interview, the head of state devoted broader attention to the issue, describing the mother tongue as one of the main attributes of statehood, even calling it the foremost one along with the flag, coat of arms, and the anthem, and stating that the deprivations endured by our people over many years have left negative effects on thinking and created consequences.

The country’s leader justified the necessity of eliminating those consequences and impacts by emphasizing the language’s potential to turn a people into a nation, and therefore highlighted the absolute importance of preserving the mother tongue.

The expanded meeting of the Press Council’s Language Commission will discuss the views voiced by President Ilham Aliyev. The discussion, to be held with the participation of linguist scholars and field specialists, will aim to prepare an action plan focused on preserving the mother tongue in the media, the statement said.