Head of the Department of Turkey of the Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Associate Professor, Dr. Levon Hovsepyan and Senior Researcher of the Department of Iran,  Associate Professor, Dr. Artyom Tonoyan delivered lectures at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and participated in a workshop on 2-4 December at the invitation of Professor Ansgar Jödicke of the Department of Social Sciences of the University of Fribourg. L. Hovsepyan’s lecture focused on the impact and role of the Turkish-Azerbaijani military-political cooperation within the security complex of the South Caucasus, the growing Turkish influence in Azerbaijan’s security apparatus, and the resulting regional security challenges. A. Tonoyan’s lecture was dedicated to the issues of cultural heritage in the contemporary Iranian-Azerbaijani relations and to the tendencies of “Azerbaijanization” of Iran’s tangible and intangible cultural layers. The speakers also participated as main presenters in the workshop titled “Religion and Culture as a Factor in Domestic and Foreign Policy”, where they delivered reports on the role of Islam in the domestic and foreign policy of contemporary Turkey, as well as on the concept of “cultural heritage” in Azerbaijan’s propaganda policy toward Armenia in the post-war period. The workshop addressed issues related to Azerbaijani nation-building, memory politics, identity, and irredentist narratives.
During the academic visit, the next steps and framework for further scientific cooperation were discussed and outlined.
The visit was carried out within the framework of the grant project “Scientific Departments Strengthening Program-2024” of the Higher Education and Science Committee of MESCS RA [Research project No. 24LCG-6A016].