History

The Baku Process began on December 2–3, 2008, during the Conference of Ministers responsible for Culture of the Council of Europe, held in Baku. On that occasion, His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, extended an invitation to the Culture Ministers of ten member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to participate alongside their European counterparts — the first time that OIC member state ministers had joined a Council of Europe ministerial conference as active participants.

The conference concluded with the adoption of the Baku Declaration for the Promotion of Intercultural Dialogue, which affirmed that cultural diversity constitutes a shared heritage of humanity and that sustained dialogue between civilizations is a necessary condition for international peace, security, and long-term development. The conference also launched the "Artists for Dialogue" project, reflecting an early commitment to engaging creative communities in the work of intercultural exchange.

In October 2009, Baku hosted the Sixth Conference of Ministers of Culture of Islamic Countries. Building directly on the precedent established the previous year, Azerbaijan extended the format in the opposite direction — this time inviting European states to participate in an Islamic ministerial gathering, through a dedicated Ministerial Roundtable titled "Fostering Dialogue and Cultural Diversity — Baku Process."

The conference adopted the Final Communiqué of the Sixth Islamic Conference of Culture Ministers, emphasizing support for joint efforts aimed at spreading cooperation and mutual respect between cultures. Together, the 2008 and 2009 conferences established a reciprocal model of engagement between European and Islamic institutional frameworks that became a defining structural feature of the Baku Process.

In September 2010, His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, addressed the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly and announced the establishment of the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue, to be held on a recurring basis in Baku. The announcement formalized the transition of the Baku Process from a diplomatic framework into a structured, operational global platform, and set the stage for what would become a biennial cycle of international forums.