Secretary General of the Turkic Council Ambassador Ramil Hasanov attended the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Group of Friends Ministerial meeting on 22 September 2017 in New York at UN Headquarters, on the margins of 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly. The Ministerial meeting that focused on the theme of "Youth Engagement: The Nexus to Building Inclusive Societies and Sustainable Peace" started with the welcoming remarks of António Guterres, UN Secretary General.

Following him, Nassir Abdulaziz Al- Nasser, the UN High Representative for the UNAOC delivered his welcoming remarks and his report about the activities of the past year. After the High Representative, Miroslav Lajcak, President of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly also addressed the audience.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey and Alfonso María Dastis, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Spain delivered their keynote speeches as their countries are the co-sponsors of the UNAOC.

In his address, Minister Çavuşoğlu mentioned the international conference that the Turkic Council and UNAOC co-hosted in October 2016 in Istanbul on "the Role of Youth in Countering and Preventing Violent Extremism" that was attended by more than 300 young people and experts from 40 countries from Africa to Central Asia. He expressed that the conference provided a platform to show the great potential and the contribution of youth to peace-building. He also raised his hope to see more examples of such cooperation in the future.

In the framework of the meeting, Secretary General Hasanov had bilateral contacts with some heads of international organizations and delegations participating in the event.

Project Directors Pelin Musabay Baki, Ali Çiviler, Assan Mazhitov, Jeyhun Shahverdiyev and Chief of Protocol Emre Yurdakul accompanied Secretary General Hasanov at the Ministerial meeting.