Shusha, Azerbaijan, July 21, 2025 /MONTSAME/. The 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum is taking place on July 19-21, 2025, in Shusha, Azerbaijan under the theme “Digital Pathways: Strengthening Information and Media Resilience in the Age of AI.” The forum brought together 255 participants, including around 140 foreign delegates from 52 countries, and representatives of Azerbaijani media, experts and officials. 

The meeting between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev and the participants of the 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum, held on July 19, 2025, in Khankendi, was one of the forum’s key highlights. The President noted, “ The Shusha Media Forum has already become a tradition, and I hope that this tradition will continue. As time passes, we see more guests and broader geographical coverage. This once again shows that there is a strong need for open discussions in a friendly atmosphere on the most important topics — not only those on the media community’s agenda, but also issues of the global agenda.”

In response to a question about the legacy of COP29, which was hosted by Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said “ As far as our contribution to the global climate agenda is concerned, I would say that Azerbaijan is an ecologically friendly country. We do not use coal or fuel oil to produce electricity. We rely only on hydropower and natural gas, and more recently, on solar energy…One of the important achievements of COP29 was that we managed to create a constructive atmosphere and, with our personal contribution, achieved agreement on Article 6 regarding the functioning of carbon markets — an issue that had been under discussion for at least the last 10 years. That is a very important and tangible result of COP29. Another important result, in our view, is that we managed to agree on increasing the funding to tackle climate change — from 100 billion US dollars, which was the figure prior to COP29, to 300 billion US dollars. We know that some countries are not satisfied with that, but we must be fair: we managed to triple the funding.”

The forum focuses on media literacy in digital age and the era of artificial intelligence, with particular emphasis on preserving truth, maintaining public trust, and ensuring. information security. Experts in media field, specifically from media organizations, including Euronews, the European Alliance of News Agencies, AnewZ, and TRT World are sharing their insights, experiences and recommendations as speakers at the forum.

Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Ad Hickman Haijiyev noted in his welcome remarks that the global media forum is taking place in the cradle of Azerbaijani culture as Shusha is the historical memory and source of inspiration for the Azerbaijani people. 

The forum participants visited Aghdam District, the cities of Khojaly and Lachin to observe ongoing construction projects and cultural sites, including the Aghdam Imarat Complex, the "Hochazfilm" creative studio and “Gilabi Ceramics”, creative center.

The Global Forum also hosts a number of side events, including an exhibition, documentary presentation and special meetings.

A round table “AZERTAC at 105: The Past, Present and Future of Cooperation” dedicated to the 105th anniversary of the AZERTAC, State News Agency was held on July 20, 2025, to discuss the modern challenges facing news agencies and cooperation between news agencies.

The 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum concludes today, having discussions under the themes “Media Literacy as the Guarantee of Information Security”, “Journalism in the AI Era: Preserving Truth amid Automation”, “How Social Media Evolution Affects Public Trust: Embracing Media Literacy.”