The Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, whose 100th anniversary was solemnly celebrated, has incomparable services for the existence of Azerbaijan as a state, its recognition and development in the world, and the happy and prosperous life of its people. The national leader made such wise decisions that turned the tide in the life of our republic and people, and today they played an exceptional role in making Azerbaijan the most powerful state in history.
One of them was the election of Mr. Ilham Aliyev, a worthy graduate of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev School, as the Prime Minister.
On that day, the presentation of genius Heydar Aliyev in this regard was discussed in the Milli Majlis, and all the deputies who spoke expressed valuable opinions about Ilham Aliyev. Everyone’s unanimous opinion was that President Heydar Aliyev made a very wise decision and presented Mr. Ilham Aliyev to the post of Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The meeting of the Parliament once again confirmed that the Great Leader took the right step.
Thus, the Milli Majlis supported the Great Leader’s presentation and a new era began in the social and political life of Azerbaijan.
Success mission of a worthy graduate of Heydar Aliyev’s school of statehood
This presentation was appreciated and supported by the public. Because already our citizens, at the same time the international community, participants of global political processes, international institutions had a lot of information about Mr. Ilham Aliyev, his personal qualities, services, attitude to statehood.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev was perceived as a person with deep intelligence, experience in statecraft, and a modern politician. He had great services to the people of Azerbaijan. Before being appointed as the prime minister, Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s work as the first vice-president of the State Oil Company, the president of the National Olympic Committee, as a deputy for eight years, as the deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and as a member of the bureau was highly appreciated in the Azerbaijani society and in foreign countries.
Let’s take a short excursion into history and take a look at the role played by Mr. Ilham Aliyev in the social and political life of Azerbaijan before he was elected as the Prime Minister, the work he did in the direction of promoting our country in the world, and his services in the direction of spreading the right voice of Azerbaijan in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev took an active part in the preparation of the new oil strategy, the author of which was Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, in the success and implementation of this policy on the world stage, in the preparation of various projects in that field, in the fulfillment of very difficult diplomatic tasks, and played an important role in the flow of investments to the country.
In the expansion of economic and cultural relations of independent Azerbaijan with foreign countries, especially in the conclusion and implementation of historical agreements with the world’s leading oil companies on the joint development of oil and gas fields, including the agreement on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan main export oil pipeline, in general, its important role in the integration of Azerbaijan into the world services. As a result of the implementation of Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s oil strategy and the signing of oil contracts with international companies, in 1994-2000, foreign companies gave Azerbaijan a bonus amounting to 800 million US dollars. More than 30,000 jobs were created in the oil sector of Azerbaijan.
The foreign diplomacy carried out by Mr. Ilham Aliyev also caused the spread of Azerbaijan’s rightful voice to the world in a wider area. His activity in the PACE, his proposals and prepared documents resulted in the recognition of Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan at the level of international organizations. Purposeful, decisive and courageous speeches at the PACE had a strong impact on the further growth of Azerbaijan’s influence in the European space. It was thanks to Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s tireless activity and decisive speeches that the Armenian aggressors were exposed in the Council of Europe, and an objective opinion was formed in the Western world about Karabakh, an inseparable part of Azerbaijan, about the conflict.
The documents prepared by Mr. Ilham Aliyev regarding the conflict turned into resolutions. A number of important decisions and resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the OSCE regarding the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan were adopted. The world heard the true voice of Azerbaijan.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who actively participates in democratic, legal and secular state building in Azerbaijan, is also a prominent party figure. He is the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), the largest political organization in the South Caucasus.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev also performed multifaceted activities when he was a member of the Milli Majlis. The worthy successor of the Great Leader, who successfully fulfilled the mission he set before him, has always been among the people and rendered invaluable services in solving existing social problems. At that time, Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s concern for representatives of different sections of the population, refugees, IDPs and disabled people of the Karabakh war, the great construction works he carried out in the Karabakh region and other regions of the country are bright manifestations of this concern for the native people.
As the president of the National Olympic Committee, Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s services in the development of Azerbaijani sports are unparalleled. It is a fact that precisely after Mr. Ilham Aliyev started working as the president of the committee, there was no such prestigious sports competition in the world where the flag of Azerbaijan was not raised to the highest peak and our national anthem was not played.
The attention paid to sports and youth soon paid off. Since 2003, our athletes have won historic victories in the last 5 Olympics. The flag of Azerbaijan flew high in all Olympic Games.
On the initiative of Mr. Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan defined the standards of the 1st European Games in 2015. Azerbaijan, a country of peace, tranquility and stability, hosted the IV Islamic Solidarity Games at a high level.
High confidence, cherished hope, fulfilled promises
On August 4, 2003, at the ceremony of presenting the newly appointed Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev to the members of the government in the Cabinet of Ministers, the worthy successor of the Great Leader expressed his gratitude to Mr. President and the Milli Majlis for this great trust and confidently emphasized that he will try his best to deserve this high trust in his future activities,
In his first statement to the press as Prime Minister, Mr. Ilham Aliyev spoke about the first steps to be taken and emphasized once again that he will continue the political line of President Heydar Aliyev and work for the continuity of economic success. The goal is to turn Azerbaijan into a powerful, strong state.
Indeed, after starting the performance of his new position, Mr. Ilham Aliyev successfully continued the political line defined by the Great Leader, sticking to all his promises. The national leader wanted to turn Azerbaijan into one of the most advanced countries in the world, into a strong and powerful state. In 1993-2003, the Great Leader, who carried out very important, large-scale works in this direction, ensured the successful development of our country. Azerbaijan achieved the successes that other countries could not achieve in 50 years within 10 years. However, he had many promising projects and work to do that had not yet been completed. Unfortunately, health problems of the genius did not allow him to complete the work he started.
At a time when our lands are under occupation, when international organizations approach our country with the principle of double standards, as well as taking into account the geopolitical situation that existed for that period, we must say that continuing the policy of the Great Leader and bringing Azerbaijan, located in a rather complex region, to the positions that a genius would like to see it was difficult. It was at such a historical moment that the people of Azerbaijan saw their new leader in the person of Mr. Ilham Aliyev. Everyone was convinced that Heydar Aliyev’s development strategy could be implemented by his political successor Mr. Ilham Aliyev.
Presidential elections were scheduled in our country on October 15, 2003. The Great Leader, who had a health problem, was sure that only Mr. Ilham Aliyev was capable of turning Azerbaijan into a country that rises like the sun to the world by continuing his path with determination and tirelessness. Considering all this, the brilliant leader addressed the people of Azerbaijan on October 1, 2003 and announced that he withdrew his candidacy in favor of his political successor Mr. Ilham Aliyev. In his address to the people, the Great Leader called on those who love him to support his political successor, Mr. Ilham Aliyev: “He is a highly intelligent, pragmatic thinker, well versed in modern world politics and economy, energetic and enterprising personality. I assure you that both Ilham Aliyev and the New Azerbaijan Party will continue to unite the most worthy children of our people around them and do a lot for the development of the state of Azerbaijan and the prosperity of our people. I believe that with your help and support, Ilham Aliyev will be able to finish the fateful issues, plans and works that I could not bring to the end. I believe in him as much as myself and have high hopes for his future.”
In 1993, the people of Azerbaijan called the Great Leader to Azerbaijan and chose him their savior Leader, of course, they believed and trusted Heydar Aliyev. Therefore, he gave a mandate of confidence to Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who was nominated for the presidency in the elections. By electing Mr. Ilham Aliyev as President, the people also demonstrated their loyalty to Heydar Aliyev and his political course. This was once again confirmation of our people’s love and infinite trust in the National Leader.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who started his work as the president, expressed his gratitude to the people for the trust shown to him at the swearing-in ceremony, and once again declared that he will remain loyal to Heydar Aliyev’s policy.
Victorious Commander-in-Chief, who turned Azerbaijan into the most powerful state in its history
The whole world is a witness that as a graduate of National Leader Heydar Aliyev school, Mr. Ilham Aliyev realized the political course, domestic and foreign diplomacy that he learned from a genius, and in just 20 years he made his name as the most reforming President in the world, a reliable partner, a conciliatory leader faithful to his word and promise, the most desirable managed to introduce himself as the head of state, the author of global scale projects and the victorious Commander-in-Chief. The past years also showed that President Ilham Aliyev is a founder, unifier, a leader who realizes all the wishes and dreams of the Azerbaijani people, and sees the interests of his state and people as the highest goal in his policy.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who was elected president in the next elections as a result of the trust of the absolute majority of the people, ensured the political and economic independence of Azerbaijan with his successful diplomacy and created a strong social state.
The independent policy and offensive diplomacy of the President of Azerbaijan raised the international reputation of our country. We would not be wrong if we say that Azerbaijan’s election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, as well as becoming a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Turkic States, and then its chairmanship, is a celebration of Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s determination. Today, there is no strong international organization that does not cooperate with Azerbaijan.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev, who successfully continued the energy diplomacy authored by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, skillfully overcame various objective and subjective difficulties and implemented magnificent global projects. Huge oil and gas pipelines such as “Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan”, “Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum”, “Southern Gas Corridor”, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and “Silk Road” projects increased the prestige of Azerbaijan. The world also recognized Ilham Aliyev as the author of global projects when a landlocked country built an energy line under the Black Sea to Europe. Being an active participant in the “East-West” and “North-South” international transport corridors projects, Azerbaijan, which is also working on the “Southwest” and “Northwest” projects, is creating energy bridges in Eurasia today. Today, under the powerful leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan is recognized as an important economic and political actor and power center in the world, especially in Eurasia.
Mr. Ilham Aliyev managed to write his name in history as a Mighty Commander. For years, he called Armenia for peace, asked for peace, but the enemy continued his aggressive policy, relying on foreign patrons. Armenian cunning and dirty games continued until 2020. Mr. Ilham Aliyev resolved the resolutions of the UN Security Council, which remained on paper, by military means with the skill of a commander. In just 44 days, the aggressor forced the country to kneel before him and sign a peace treaty. Ilham Aliyev put an end to the 30-year war and 2-century conflict and raised his eternal statue in the hearts of his people. He freed Karabakh from the enemy and began to rebuild and restore it. In Karabakh and East Zangezur, where the enemy did not build anything in 30 years, he began to implement magnificent modern projects.
With the start of the implementation of the “I State Program on the Great Return”, Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s promise that “all our forcibly displaced compatriots will return to their ancestral lands” has come true. With this successful mission, the President of Azerbaijan demonstrated to the world the determination of a true commander. The “Iron Fist” operation of Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev, who conducted a “smart war” for the first time in the world, is still a topic of discussion in international military schools.
With this historic victory, President Ilham Aliyev forever engraved his name as victorious Warrior in the military history not only of his country, but in fact of the world.
On November 8, on Victory Day, the victorious Commander-in-Chief, who visited the grave of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, considers himself happy because he successfully fulfilled the mission he set before him years ago and fulfilled his father’s will.
In an interview broadcast on Euronews TV on August 1 of this year, Commander-in-Chief Muzaffar once again stated that winning the Patriotic War was the mission of his personal and political life. The war ended successfully and the 30-year longing of the Azerbaijani people ended. Now the new mission is to establish peace in the region. If the Armenian leadership confirmed the statements it made in words and on paper, peace and security will be ensured in the region.
A great supporter of the president, the most loyal comrade-in-arms
In the past 20 years, President Ilham Aliyev’s biggest supporter and closest comrade-in-arms has been the First Lady of our country, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva. The head of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, deeply understanding the responsibility of the mission assigned to her as the first lady, stepped together with Mr. Ilham Aliyev in solving the fateful issues for the country.
Mrs. Mehriban, who is the biggest supporter of Mr. Ilham Aliyev’s policy, plays an invaluable role in promoting Azerbaijan to the world. Before the Second Karabakh War, the path taken by the First Vice President based on our national interests in the direction of destroying the negative stereotypes created by the Armenian lobby and anti-Azerbaijani forces against our country, bringing the truths about Azerbaijan to the attention of the world community, played a great role in our country being recognized as a harbinger of peace and prosperity in the world.
If we analyze the work done by Mehriban Aliyeva, who as the first vice-president made worthy contributions to the support and success of the political course implemented by President Ilham Aliyev in every field, we can be sure that her multifaceted and wide-ranging activities have a great weight in the development of Azerbaijan today. Mehriban Aliyeva, who is a great supporter of all the projects of President Ilham Aliyev, is providing invaluable services in the reconstruction of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur together with the Commander-in-Chief Muzaffar. As the closest comrade-in-arms of the President of Azerbaijan, Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva honorably fulfills all her duties together with the head of state. That is why Mehriban Aliyeva, who has become the favorite of the people, is appreciated for her exceptional role and position in the successful continuation of the statehood policy of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and the realization of President Ilham Aliyev’s “Strong Azerbaijan” model. The honorable mission carried out by Mrs. Mehriban for the sake of Azerbaijan ensures the closer unification of the people around Mr. Ilham Aliyev, further strengthens the political line of Aliyevism, which has become the course of our statehood. Today’s achievements and successes are the fruits of the genius of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev.
We can say with certainty that President Ilham Aliyev, who turned Azerbaijan into the most powerful state in its history, will bring great success to our country with the new concept of advancement.
Sattar MOHBALIYEV,
Member of the Milli Majlis, Chairman of Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation
AZERBAIJAN newspaper