Khazar University founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors and Trustees, Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isakhanli participated in an international scientific conference titled "Academic and Scientific Activities of Azerbaijanis in Europe and Inter-University Relations" at the University of Strasbourg, France, on May 5, 2026. Organized jointly by the University of Strasbourg, Khazar University, the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, and the Franco-Azerbaijani University, Azerbaijan was represented at the conference by Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isakhanli and Solmaz Rustamova-Tohidi, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, and Leading Research Fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies named after Academician Ziya Bunyadov of ANAS.

Delivering the opening address, Vice-Rector of the University of Strasbourg, Professor Jean-Marc Planès, spoke about the significance of continuing Strasbourg-Azerbaijan scientific relations at a new level — relations whose foundation was laid as far back as the mid-19th century, when the first Azerbaijani student, Movsun Khanlanov, received a scientific degree in chemistry. He welcomed the Azerbaijani guests and expressed his confidence that the conference would lay the groundwork for new cooperation projects with Azerbaijani scientific and educational institutions. Prof. Acad. Hamlet Isakhanli delivered an extensive paper titled "University Research between the Far East and the Far West. A View from Azerbaijan," while Prof. Solmaz Rustamova-Tohidi's paper was entitled "The Education of Azerbaijanis at European Universities — A Historic-Tragic Process, or Prospects Opening onto the Future (A Century in Review: 1850–1950)." Faculty members and scholars of the University of Strasbourg — Samim Akkönnül, Stefan de Tapia, Dilek Sarmış, Tamerlan Guliyev, and Didier Frankfort — also shared insightful perspectives on the prospects for cooperation between European higher education institutions and Azerbaijan. The conference sessions were held in the university's largest amphitheater auditorium, which bears the name of the distinguished Azerbaijani scholar, renowned turkologist, and great friend of our country, the late Irène Mélikoff, and one of the sessions was dedicated to her memory. The papers and addresses by Stefan de Tapia — a prominent French turkologist who collaborated with Irène Mélikoff for many years — and Mélikoff's daughter Şirin Mélikoff, along with documentary films screened at the event, confirmed that scientific ties between Azerbaijan and France had been renewed as early as the 1990s. Hamlet Isakhanli presented to the University of Strasbourg the 16th issue of the series "Women Who Left Their Mark on History and Contributed to Azerbaijani Culture," dedicated to Irène Mélikoff, the 13th issue dedicated to Nailakhanum Isayeva, and the 14th issue dedicated to Ümmülbanu Asadullayeva (Banine) — a representative of 20th-century Azerbaijani émigré literature who lived and worked in France — all published by the Nailakhanim Museum of Khazar University.

At a dinner hosted in the evening by the French organizers of the conference in honor of the Azerbaijani scholars, Rector of the University of Strasbourg, Professor Frédéric Berrot, and Vice-Rector, Professor Jean-Marc Planès, discussed with Azerbaijani guests Hamlet Isakhanli and Solmaz Rustamova-Tohidi the prospects and directions for cooperation in the fields of education and academic research between their respective scientific and educational institutions and the University of Strasbourg.

A visit was also made to the city of Baden-Baden, and meetings were held with Azerbaijani scholars, business figures, and media representatives residing in Strasbourg, during which views were exchanged on future areas of cooperation.