Representatives of 50 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Republic of Azerbaijan have issued an open letter to the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, calling for practical steps to ensure that millions of Azerbaijanis living in Iran can receive education in their mother tongue, Azerbaijani.

The open letter reads as follows: “Dear Mr. President,

We, the representatives of civil society organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, would first like to express our profound respect and esteem for you.

We highly appreciate your visit to our native Khankendi, liberated from occupation, and to the city of Shusha, which holds a special place in the heart of every Azerbaijani. We also value the goodwill you have demonstrated toward the Republic of Azerbaijan, the importance you attach to good-neighbourly relations between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and your relationship with the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, founded on mutual respect, trust, and sincerity.

Your work as a physician, through which you have operated on dozens of Azerbaijani patients and treated them with great attention and care, your commitment to serving humanity, and your civic stance as a public figure have further strengthened the Azerbaijani people’s appreciation and affection for you.

Dear Mr. President,

Your love and respect for the Azerbaijani language, the national and spiritual values of the Azerbaijani people, and their rich literary heritage are worthy of recognition. Your recitation of Azerbaijani poetry in your speeches, your references to Azerbaijani proverbs, your use of your native language when communicating with your family, and your proud demonstration of your attachment to the language are deeply meaningful.

All of this demonstrates that, for you, the Azerbaijani language is not merely a means of communication, but also an inseparable part of spiritual identity, historical memory, and national belonging.

It is precisely in this regard that we believe you, as a head of state who recognizes the exceptional importance of one’s mother tongue in human life, will approach with particular sensitivity the aspirations of millions of Azerbaijanis living in Iran to receive education in their native language.

We believe the time has come to take historic steps toward ensuring opportunities for education in the mother tongue for Azerbaijanis, who have always played a significant role in Iran’s political, social, economic, cultural, and other spheres of life.

Today, expanding the opportunities of millions of people who are the worthy heirs of this historic legacy to preserve, develop, and pass on their mother tongue to future generations is both a moral responsibility and a matter of historical justice.

We respectfully ask you to take personal initiative in ensuring that decisive and practical steps are taken to provide Azerbaijanis living in the Islamic Republic of Iran with opportunities to receive education in their mother tongue, as provided for in the country’s Constitution.

We believe that achieving this objective requires the systematic teaching of the Azerbaijani language in schools; the establishment of secondary and higher education institutions offering instruction in Azerbaijani; the training of qualified teachers; the development of textbooks and educational curricula; and the creation of the necessary legal and institutional mechanisms to support these efforts.

We are confident that such an initiative would not only help fulfil a long-standing aspiration of millions of people, but also become a shining example of the high value placed on Iran’s cultural diversity and its commitment to justice and equality.

Providing people with the opportunity to receive education in their mother tongue is an expression of respect for a people’s past, recognition of their present, and one of the most valuable investments in their future.

Dear Mr. President,

We believe that historic steps taken in this direction during your presidency would leave an indelible mark on the collective memory of millions of Azerbaijanis and be remembered with enduring gratitude.

We, the representatives of Azerbaijani civil society, also declare our readiness to provide every possible support within our means for the realization of this noble mission, the advancement of mother-tongue education, and the expansion of scientific, pedagogical, and cultural cooperation.

As we write this letter, we recall with deep emotion the immortal verses devoted to our mother tongue by Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar, the distinguished poet of Azerbaijan and Iran, whom you, too, have consistently remembered with great love and reverence.

We believe that, as a President who holds a profound love for the mother tongue, you will not withhold your valuable contribution toward the fulfilment of this historic mission.

With profound respect and esteem,

Representatives of 50 Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan”