The conference was held within the Council of Europe's Stage project and was dedicated to the analysis of culture of the three South Caucasian countries, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. Representatives of Austria, Germany, Greece, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine also took part in the conference.
According to Catherine Roth, the sides agreed to help each other develop museums and libraries and promote cultural policy of cities.
The conferees adopted a declaration saying that culture is making an important contribution in the building of peaceful, stable and open Europe free from conflicts and violence, the director said.
On his part, Azerbaijan's Culture Minister Polad Byul-byul ogly said in a RIA Novosti interview that "cultural dialogue was useful and necessary".
"Contacts are highly important. This is a possibility to get acquainted with European cultural values, exchange cultural riches and talk about each other's problems," the minister noted.
Speaking about the development of culture in Azerbaijan, the minister pointed out with satisfaction that the state kept paying more and more attention to cultural problems and increased state financing of this sphere.
According to Polad Byul-byul ogly, in 2005 24% more money will be allocated on culture development from Azerbaijan's state budget than in 2004.
