Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the official opening ceremony of the Crans Montana Forum

- Dear ladies and gentlemen!

Your Excellencies!

I would like to welcome you all to our country. I would like to thank the Crans Montana Forum and its chairman, Mr. Carteron, for coming to Azerbaijan and Baku today to participate in this forum.

I know that many of you have come to Azerbaijan for the first time, that this is your first such forum in Azerbaijan. I am sure you will feel this spirit of development in our society and see clearly what work is carried out in Baku and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan and Baku have become a venue of political and economic dialogue. Azerbaijan and Baku have become a venue for a prestigious international forums. And we are very excited about that.

Baku hosts discussions, debates and forums on a variety of interesting political topics. All this is the result of our policy and, at the same time, the historical heritage of our country. Because historically, over the centuries, Azerbaijan has been a place where representatives of different cultures and nations live in peace. Therefore, the organization of such events, meetings and joint work of representatives of different nations and cultures in our country, such discussions and debates have become a natural phenomenon for us. We always give preference to developing multiculturalism, the factor of multiculturalism through our work, we seek to reinforce it because in today's globalizing world there is no alternative to it. So I want to reiterate that the co-existence of people of different ethnic backgrounds and cultures here has been a natural phenomenon for Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a country with a long history. I am sure our guests will have the opportunity to visit our historical sites, see and feel Azerbaijan’s historical monuments.

We have been an independent country for only 20 years. Last year we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our independence. For us and our people independence is the biggest happiness, the greatest value. Our people lived with the dream of freedom and achieved this independence. Now Azerbaijan has been a member of the international community for 20 years and is developing successfully. These 20 years have seen major political and economic changes. Previously, Azerbaijan was not independent and free because we lived in a totalitarian state.

Therefore, after gaining independence, we experienced changes and political transformation. State building was very important and created great opportunities for us. But there were also many difficulties. But despite that, after becoming independent we managed to create a strong state and significantly transform the economic and political spheres. We are developing and strengthening the democratic process now. We attach great importance to the rule of law and human rights. All political structures and parties continue to operate successfully in Azerbaijan.

At the same time, we certainly have attached great importance to economic transformation. Because without economic development and a strong economy, political reform is impossible. Therefore, we carried out these reforms in the political and economic planes in parallel. Political and economic reforms have complemented each other and today Azerbaijan shows that we have chosen the right path and done the right thing.

Over the last 10 years Azerbaijan’s economic development has been the fastest in the world. Our economy has grown three-fold. Industrial production has tripled. At the same time, we have attached great importance to social issues.

Because painful economic reforms have caused popular discontent in some countries. This did not happen in Azerbaijan. Our poverty rate has dropped five times over the past eight years – to 7 per cent. We have also demonstrated that the development towards a market economy does not have to occur at the expense of social issues.

Azerbaijan is a stable economy. Our unemployment rate is 5.4 per cent. The external debt amounts to only 7 per cent of the GDP. Our exports are several times higher than imports. Economic transformation and changes have enabled us to conduct further reforms and create a totally new situation. Azerbaijan is a country that lives and develops at its own expense.

At the same time, Azerbaijan is developing its very important foreign policy. In my opinion, this is a very important issue for any country, especially for a country that was not independent for a long time, over centuries. So issues of regional cooperation are very important to us. We have started several projects to strengthen regional cooperation that will benefit our people and our neighbors. We believe that regional cooperation is impossible without regional security. So our growing influence in the region is a stabilizing factor that has laid this foundation.

One of the main problems after the restoration of independence was the occupation of our lands by Armenia. This dealt a severe blow to us. This dealt a severe blow to the security and cooperation in the entire region. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized historical territory of Azerbaijan which Armenia has occupied. Armenia has conducted a policy of ethnic cleansing on these Azerbaijani lands. In general, 20 per cent of our land is currently under Armenian occupation. There are UN resolutions, the Helsinki Charter. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions demanding that Armenia withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territories. But it has yet to comply with the resolutions.

Similar resolutions have been passed by the Council of Europe, the OSCE and other international organizations. They also remain unfulfilled. The non-fulfillment of these resolutions for many years calls into question the value of international organizations’ work in this field.

Nagorno-Karabakh is located practically at the heart of Azerbaijan. All the resolutions pertaining to the settlement require an end to the occupation and a return of forced migrants to their homes. OSCE fact-finding missions have revealed that all historical and cultural monuments on our lands in Nagorno-Karabakh have been destroyed. But I am sure that Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity. Because Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is recognized by the UN. Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan recognized as such by all international organizations. Nagorno-Karabakh is not recognized by any state as an independent country.

We are making great diplomatic effort in this area. We are strengthening our economy. I am sure that all of these factors will enable us to restore our sovereignty and territorial integrity. The conflict must be resolved only on the basis of norms and principles of international law, on the basis of the Helsinki Final Act. This act states that the principle of territorial integrity and the principle of self-determination should not be in conflict, while the right of peoples to self-determination should be resolved within the framework of the principle of territorial integrity.

All these issues are our top priorities. We have a completely clear foreign policy. This is how we build our activities in the field of international cooperation from political and economic standpoints.

As you know, Azerbaijan has recently been elected a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council. Now Azerbaijan has a say in matters of global security. Last month Azerbaijan presided over a Security Council meeting, the world’s top international organization.

I would like to thank all the countries that supported our candidacy. This suggests that over the past 20 years our country has earned recognition as a reliable partner. We have received the votes of 155 countries to become a nonpermanent member of the Security Council. We will justify the confidence of the countries that have supported and believed in Azerbaijan. After the election I said in a speech that Azerbaijan adheres to the principles of justice and international law. I also noted that in most cases international law and justice are violated. We don’t want this to be true. Azerbaijan will not allow it. Because all these violations pose problems to the international community. If resolutions and documents adopted to resolve conflicts do not work, if the decisions of international organizations are not executed by some countries, we must think about what we can do to make these international institutions and their decisions effective.

There are cases where the decisions of international organizations, such as the Security Council, are carried out in a matter of hours. Unfortunately, this did not happen in our case.

One of the key challenges on the global agenda is today is ensure peace, security and cooperation. As a member of the Security Council Azerbaijan understands that we must be very active in this matter. In general, our main goal is to expand cooperation. We can achieve our goal through cooperation and mutual support. This policy of ours applies to international and energy issues. You know that Azerbaijan has ample reserves of oil and gas. Our policy on energy security is clear and precise. I am sure that the discussion on energy security will be very interesting. I think that everything that prevents energy security should be discussed.

Azerbaijan is in favor of effective relationships with investors, with parties making investment, with companies on the basis of mutual interest, and we are doing so. In addition, we support the opening of new areas of energy policy. By implementing this policy, Azerbaijan has set itself the principles and objectives of achieving economic prosperity and mutual support.

Energy factors should never be used for political purposes or any other ends. Our country uses energy resources very responsibly. All the projects on our agenda have been successfully implemented since the 1990s. We have implemented several oil and gas pipeline projects. Today they enable the transit of our energy in different directions.

Azerbaijan’s energy constitutes 25-30 per cent of the total energy balance of some European countries, and this figure is growing. Azerbaijan used to be known primarily as an oil country.

Thus, oil was first discovered in Azerbaijan. First oil was first extracted onshore also in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is now known in matters of global energy security as a country with large reserves of gas.

Clear evidence of this is the agreement on the construction of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline recently signed between Turkey and Azerbaijan. With the realization of this project we will open a corridor between the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean seas. This is an energy project for us and our neighbors.

This corridor has already been used as transport infrastructure. Historically, it was a corridor that was used to create links between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. At the same time, it will contribute to the revival of the Silk Road. All these projects will also benefit Azerbaijan’s neighbors. We will thus change the energy map of the region and the continent as a whole. Of course, given the energy projects on our agenda, we know our potential, the potential of supplies and the growing demand of European consumers. Besides, the demand for natural gas will keep increasing, especially after the closure of nuclear facilities. After 2020, it will be particularly important. As a country with great energy resources,

Azerbaijan will be playing a huge role in European energy security. We are currently working on these issues. We know how important diversification is. It is important for all countries – both producers and consumers. Proper relations among producers, consumers and transit countries are crucial to success. I am sure that our new project will be a success because we have a strong will. We know this. Also, we have the necessary financial strength. Technically we are also capable of much. We have excellent relations with our traditional neighbors in the region, with our allies. So far, not a single project we have started has failed. So we will just keep on working.

I know we will have interesting discussions today and tomorrow. The forum agenda is broad and covers important issues. I am sure your thoughts will generate new ideas and approaches during the discussion. We will work together on these ideas for the future. Once again: welcome to Azerbaijan! I wish you every success. Thank you.