Azerbaijan's Shusha city will be declared the cultural capital of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) in 2023.

The Culture Minister Anar Karimov made this statement at the conference "Great return: Revival of culture".

"The announcement will be made at the TURKSOY session. A number of events will be organized in partnership with all of our Turkic-speaking brothers," said Karimov.

The Culture Minister also touched upon the restoration of the religious sites in Azerbaijan's liberated territories.

"We demonstrate to the whole world that the Azerbaijani people are not destroying monuments, but, on the contrary, are carrying out restoration work. Two churches will be restored in Shusha along with mosques."

Karimov noted that Azerbaijan is returning to the territories liberated from occupation in peace.

"In order for lasting peace to reign on these lands, sustainable development was ensured, and communication between communities was restored," he added.

The conference "Great return: Revival of culture" was held Baku with the support of the Culture Minister.

The event was timed to the first anniversary of Azerbaijan's Victory Day (Nov 8) in the Second Karabakh War.

The conference included four sessions that highlighted Azerbaijani culture, historical monuments and other topics.

Local and foreign guests, including international experts, representatives of the diplomatic corps took part in the conference.