Speech by Ilham Aliyev official reception on the occasion of the national holiday of Azerbaijan - the Republic Day

- Dear ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests.

I would like to sincerely congratulate you and the people of Azerbaijan on the upcoming Republic Day and wish each of you good health and happiness.

Ninety-five years ago the first democratic republic of the Muslim world was established in Azerbaijan. It was a major and historic event because the people of Azerbaijan gained the independence and freedom they had dreamed of for centuries. The Azerbaijani people acquired their own state. At the same time, the establishment of the republic gave an impetus to the spread of the republican structure in the Muslim world.

In a short time, all government agencies and public institutions were put in place. Democratic development was ongoing, women were granted the right to vote, the National Army was created.

In other words, the founders of the republic did a great job, and the people of Azerbaijan hold their memory in high esteem. A monument has been erected in the center of Baku to commemorate those who signed the "Declaration of Independence".

However, for some reasons, two years later the republic fell and Azerbaijan lost its independence.

After that the Soviet period began. For 71 years we were part of the Soviet Union. We were not free and independent.

Despite this, Azerbaijan went through a period of development. I believe that there were quite a few positive aspects about those years. First of all, the fight against illiteracy produced excellent results. Poverty was eliminated, there was practically no unemployment. Azerbaijan was going through a process of industrialization, which gained momentum in the 1970s.

However, we were not free, we were not independent. We were part of another state. Of course, we were deprived of independence. At the same time, the Soviet Union's political and economic system was not very conducive to rapid development. A clear proof of this was the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the 1970s, great creative work started in Azerbaijan under the leadership Heydar Aliyev.

Azerbaijan was different. It stood out among the other Soviet republics. There was rapid development here. We saw this rapid development after 1993 as well. Unfortunately, at the end of the 1980s, when Armenian separatism emerged, the people who led the republic at the time could not perform their duties properly. Azerbaijan was in decline, and when the Soviet Union collapsed the situation here was very difficult. There was a political chaos, tyranny, anarchy and economic decline. The industry was in a completely paralyzed state. The main sector of our economy, the oil industry, was also in decline, as production was gradually dropping. In other words, when independence was restored in 1991, the situation in Azerbaijan was perhaps the most difficult of all post-Soviet republics. On the one hand, there were territorial claims on the part of Armenia and separatists, and on the other there was a negative situation at home, with internal strife for power.

In particular, as a result of the negligent and treacherous activities of the PFA-Musavat tandem in 1992-1993, the state independence of Azerbaijan was actually being lost. History was about to repeat itself.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic existed for two years. And in 1991-1993, for two years, Azerbaijan was left face-to-face with major disasters.

I must mention the fact that great leader Heydar Aliyev did a great deal for the sake of independence. Back when he was in Nakhchivan, the tricolor flag of the Democratic Republic was adopted as the national flag. The words "Soviet Socialist" were removed from the name of the autonomous republic. Nakhchivan did not participate in the referendum on the preservation of the Soviet Union. In other words, all of these steps were actually aimed at independence.

It is no coincidence that in 1993, at a time when civil war was in full swing in Azerbaijan, the people of Azerbaijan once again appealed to the nationwide leader. After his return to political power in Azerbaijan the situation changed dramatically, and Azerbaijan embarked on the path of development.

I expressed my thoughts about that period during the recent celebrations of the 90th birthday anniversary of the great leader. I just want to say that 1993-2003 were crucial years for our country. It was in those years that a solid foundation of our statehood was laid. The strategic course of Azerbaijan both in domestic and foreign policy was defined in those years. It was in those years that Azerbaijan entered the international community and managed to achieve recognition.

Drastic reforms were carried out. The principles of a market economy began to dominate. It was at that time that Azerbaijan attracted major investments. The Constitution of our independent state was adopted, the political system strengthened and a solid foundation laid for the successful development of our country.

The 1993-2003 period will remain in history as one of stability and development. The work carried out in those years serves the successful development of our country today. The projects launched in those years are well under way. In order to appreciate the present-day realities of Azerbaijan, we have to go back to those years of course.

Fortunately, the factor of Heydar Aliyev showed itself at crucial moments for our country. Today this policy remains unchanged. Azerbaijan is developing successfully and confidently today. The main tasks on our agenda are being successfully addressed. Today Azerbaijan is recognized globally as a reliable partner and a friendly country.

Over the past 10 years, the policy of Heydar Aliyev in Azerbaijan has been continued. Addressing the nation in the run-up to the presidential election in 2003, I said that if I am given the confidence of the people, I will remain committed to this policy and will continue it.

I am very glad that in the last 10 years the people and the state of Azerbaijan have experienced a period of rapid development in the true sense of the word. In these 10 years we have resolved most of the problems. We are implementing specific programs in any direction. Many of them have already been completed. The processes in Azerbaijan are going in a positive direction. The domestic situation is very stable. Our foreign relations are expanding.

Azerbaijan is recognized worldwide as a reliable partner. An increasing number of countries want to be friends with Azerbaijan. And we build our bilateral relations from the same angle: the more friends we have, the stronger our standing in the world.

All foreign policy objectives have been met. We have established excellent relations in the bilateral format.

The role of Azerbaijan in the region has significantly strengthened. At present, Azerbaijan plays an active role and has its own position in all the processes ongoing in the region. The initiatives Azerbaijan has put forward are of great importance to regional cooperation. No project or initiative can be successful without the participation of Azerbaijan.

I think that the summit of our foreign policy was our election to the UN Security Council of course. This was a historic event. The vast majority of the international community believed in Azerbaijan, supported and showed confidence for us.

As I had stated, Azerbaijan has been defending international law and justice in the UN Security Council for about two years now. Over the years we have accumulated a lot of experience. This is an invaluable experience, an experience that is very important for us in the future. At the same time, we have extensively introduced our country to the global community once again. As a member of the Security Council we have to have a very clear and precise position on every issue. Azerbaijan demonstrates and will continue to demonstrate this position.

I believe that the domestic developments of the last 10 years have substantially strengthened our country.

The domestic stability, the public and political order, the unity between the people and the government - all these factors are important for the successful development of any country. If stability was not defended properly, if stability was violated, so much foreign investment would not be made in Azerbaijan, of course. And Azerbaijan would not have such strong opportunities in the region and the world today.

Underlying this stability, of course, is a sound policy. This is what stability rests upon. If there is no prudent policy, there is a gap between the government and the people. If the programs being implemented do not reflect the wishes of the people, stability is destined to be undermined. We are closely watching the processes ongoing in the region. And we see that the stand-off, mass protests and other negative phenomena, civil wars, bloody clashes are a reality today. In various regions of the world the developments or most of them go in a negative direction. Developed countries are trying to eliminate the consequences of the financial and economic crisis now. The situation in underdeveloped countries – civil wars, civil disobedience, stand-offs, political and economic crises, poverty and unemployment – is already obvious.

These are the present-day realities of underdeveloped countries.

Over the recent years, Azerbaijan has made really great strides in both political and economic spheres. These successes are the realities of the present-day Azerbaijan. Our advances in the economic sphere are reflected in the reports of influential international organizations. The credit ratings of Azerbaijan are growing.

The Azerbaijani economy is among top 50 most competitive economies in the world. We are in 46th place. The country is rapidly implementing social programs.

I have expressed my views in relation to foreign policy. The number of our partners there is also on the rise. We are a member of both the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Council of Europe, and this makes us quite special. We are an active member of the Non-Aligned Movement and have already demonstrated our position within the organization.

As for other issues, we have done a great deal of work. But there is still much to do. Our main focus is on the future. What else needs to be done in the future to make the development of Azerbaijan sustainable and long-term, so that our economy could be diversified?!

Our main goal now is to identify future priorities and implement our strategy of further development. I can say that the experience gained in this area over the last 20 years creates perfect conditions. The period of transformation has been very successful in Azerbaijan. I believe that the experience of Azerbaijan should be very interesting for the countries that are in a difficult situation now.

When independence is gained, the political system has to be changed too. The vast majority of countries that have gained independence simply become free and independent. The political system in them does not change. For example, if we look at the experience of the countries that gained independence in the 1970s, we can see that their political system did not change. Their economic relations did not change. We have changed both the political and economic systems. At the same time, we had to build a state.

I believe that we have successfully completed this period of transition. I have already noted that the transition period was completed in Azerbaijan long ago, and this transformation, let me say again, may be very interesting and attractive for the countries that are now in a difficult situation.

As for the future plans, we will continue to pursue our foreign policy on a clear course. The main directions of our foreign policy are defined. We are interested in developing mutually beneficial and equitable relations with all countries on a bilateral basis. These are well-established relations. Azerbaijan is recognized by the world community as an equal partner. I believe that we will be even more active in the foreign policy in the coming years. We are now defining new directions of foreign policy.

The solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the most important issue for us. It is a matter of both foreign and domestic policy. It is a matter of justice and a matter of international law. Unfortunately, there is no progress in this direction, and the main reason for this is the fact that Armenia ignores international law, flouts the statements of Minsk Group co-chair countries, wants to maintain the status quo as long as possible, acts insincerely in negotiations, makes false statements, indulges in hypocritical conduct, tries to mislead the international community, does not comply with the demands of mediating organizations dealing with the issue.

This is the reality. The numerous efforts of Azerbaijan remain unanswered. As you know, Azerbaijan has given its consent for the updated Madrid principles proposed by the Minsk Group in late 2009. We thought that these principles could form the basis of a comprehensive peace agreement. We suggested wasting no time and starting to work on a comprehensive peace agreement. Armenia declined the suggestions, and subsequently mobilized all its opportunities to strengthen this stagnant situation in the negotiations.

We cannot put up with that. We are interested in conducting negotiations. But negotiations should be conducted on the substance of the issue. Azerbaijan is the party most interested in resolving the issue. Armenia is simply trying to gain time. If their politicians take into account the interests of Armenia, they will see that further delay will plunge them into an even more difficult situation. But despite this, these are tactical steps. Armenia has chosen the delaying tactics and intends to conduct negotiations for the sake of negotiations.

As for the mediators, unfortunately the main focus of their activities is to maintain the ceasefire. We also want to maintain the ceasefire. But at the same time we want to restore our territorial integrity and this is what we demand. International law requires that.

The UN Security Council resolutions, the decisions and resolutions of other organizations require that. So the interests of Azerbaijan are somewhat different. We also want to have peace. We also want the matter to be resolved by peaceful means, but to be resolved for sure. Armenia does not want the issue to be resolved. Let me say again that Armenia wants to preserve the status quo as long as possible. The mediators, unfortunately, have been more engaged in confidence building measures, stabilization of the situation on the contact line and other issues not directly related to the substance of the negotiations lately.

This situation is intolerable, unacceptable and must be changed. If negotiations are conducted, they should be conducted on the substance of the issue. And the substance is that our territorial integrity recognized by the international community must be restored, the occupying forces must withdraw from the occupied lands and Azerbaijan must restore its territorial integrity.

As for the future of the citizens who live in Nagorno-Karabakh and those who will return there after the settlement of the conflict, there are positive experiences of autonomy in the world, including the positive experience on the European continent. Without going beyond the scope of this experience, the principle of self-governance may be applied there.

Nagorno-Karabakh is native and historical Azerbaijani land. This has always been the case. It is the case today and so will it be in the future. There cannot be and will not be any concessions on the issue of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

I think that we need to take even more serious steps related to our future activities in this direction. As a matter of fact, there is not much of a choice here - either the military or peaceful way! We are ready for both options. We have never ruled out the military option. International law and the UN Charter recognize the possibilities of self-defense, and Azerbaijan may carry out an operation on the territory recognized by the international community as being the territory of Azerbaijan at any time.

We are simply trying our best to resolve this issue peacefully. I believe that the opportunities in this direction have not been fully exhausted yet. We need to further step up our efforts to resolve the issue peacefully and fairly as soon as possible. We have to grow and are growing even stronger in foreign policy, domestic policy and the economic sphere.

We must continue to keep Armenia in isolation from all international projects. This tactic and policy are bearing fruit. According to the official statistics of Armenia proper, 80,000 to 100,000 people leave the country every year. They leave for good. There is a growing trend of depopulation and a demographic crisis in this country. And this crisis will gradually deepen - the more able-bodied people leave the country, the fewer opportunities there are to revive the economy. As for the revival of the economy, there are no such prospects whatsoever. There is a complete stagnation there.

We must redouble our efforts to strengthen our country. We must and will continue to keep Armenia in isolation. We must use every opportunity to further enhance our potential. This also means the military potential. Today the Azerbaijani army is the strongest army in the South Caucasus. We have repeatedly demonstrated that in military parades and will demonstrate again.

Our foreign policy is yielding results. The final declarations signed with the vast majority of the heads of state I have met with in a bilateral format over the last 10 years reflect the principles of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

We must step up our reforms in the economic sphere. I think that by doing so we will further strengthen our position at the negotiating table. If we look a little ahead - I said this last time and I want to say it again today - the demographic situation will also play and is already playing a positive role. Today Azerbaijan's population is close to 9,500,000 people.

Armenia is now home to less than 2 million people. If our population grows at this pace and the Armenian population declines, then in about five to seven years our population will be 10 times larger than theirs. This is a source of strength in itself. Given the successful economic and energy policy of Azerbaijan, I believe that we will achieve what we want.

So the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is the first and the most important issue. The government of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani society in general has mobilized all the possibilities to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

As for the other tasks, I believe that our programs alone provide sufficient information about their definition. The democratic process associated with domestic policies will continue to develop. All freedoms are protected in Azerbaijan.

The freedom of speech and freedom of the press are fully provided. There is free internet in Azerbaijan. The freedom of assembly is fully guaranteed.

Azerbaijan will continue to carry out reforms associated with the development of democracy. We are ready for these reforms. As a matter of fact, we initiated these reforms ourselves.

Azerbaijan should continue to carry out security measures. Our greatest happiness lies in the fact that Azerbaijani citizens live in peace, tranquility and security. Great success has been achieved in the fight against corruption. Both administrative measures and system reforms have been carried out and are bearing fruit. I believe that we will achieve even greater success in the elimination of this great misfortune in the coming years.

In short, the major domestic policies have long been defined. We simply have to address these issues in a more focused manner.

In the economic sphere, the priority will continue to be the development of the non-oil sector. I am very pleased that our non-oil sector grew by 11 per cent in the first four months of this year. This means that our diversification policy is bearing fruit. We are now developing non-traditional sectors for our economy - the sphere of information and communication technology and other areas. The dependence on the oil factor is reducing.

The oil segment already forms a minority in our gross domestic product. This is also a very positive indicator. The main part of the gross domestic product is generated in the non-oil sector. In the coming years this process will be continued. If we consider that the third regional development program will be adopted at the beginning of next year, I believe that all of the tasks must be fulfilled.

Issues of food security are in the foreground in agriculture. Quite a few decisions have been made in this regard. We have to be able to provide ourselves with basic food commodities by 100 per cent. I set this goal a few years ago and we are making good progress towards this goal. Azerbaijan should create very strong export potential. Our country is undergoing a process of industrialization, creating industrial parks and launching new industrial enterprises. This also contributes to reducing the dependence of the economy on the oil factor. In the coming years we must increase the gross domestic product on the account of the non-oil sector.

Over the past 10 years we have been the fastest growing economy in the world. I believe that in the next 10 years we should achieve the most rapid development of the non-oil sector. As for the oil sector, I believe that we do not place our day-to-day focus on this industry. And this is a very positive development, because everything is going according to plan in this industry.

We have successfully completed all our projects - Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and other projects.

The signing of the TANAP project last year was a great event. I am proud to say that the TANAP project was initiated by Azerbaijan. The largest financial and technical burden also falls on Azerbaijan. We are ready for this responsibility. We saw that the negotiations on the Southern Gas Corridor went on and on, but no tangible steps were taken. Therefore, we assumed this initiative. The TANAP project earned broad international support in a short time. I am sure that Azerbaijan will properly implement this project, as has been the case with other projects.

At the current stage the initiatives that have been put forward and will be put forward by Azerbaijan attract attention.

Our decisions are anticipated. Our decisions will play a crucial role. The decisions to be made in Azerbaijan will contribute to the energy security of the continent. We, together with our partners, are defining a new energy map of the continent. This is a great responsibility, a great honor and a great achievement. We have achieved this by our own initiatives. Today, the initiatives related to the energy diversification of the region are largely in line with the initiatives of Azerbaijan. Our policy in this area is unequivocal. I have repeatedly stated this. We are using the energy factor to deepen our cooperation. We have never used it to create conflict or unreasonable competition. We have used it to develop and strengthen our cooperation and secure our national interests. This policy is proving right.

I am sure that Azerbaijan will continue to speak its word as an energy partner of the regional and global scale, and projects we plan on will be successfully implemented.

In short, we have specific programs for each area. Today I simply wanted to express my thoughts on the main directions.

But there are specific programs for every field, and these programs are being implemented. Most importantly, Azerbaijan has been an independent state for almost 22 years. I want to say again that the first years of our independence were difficult. 1991 and the beginning of 1993 were the most difficult years. Those years were a disgrace for the independent Azerbaijan.

The people of Azerbaijan deserve better conditions, and these conditions have been provided by our government and by the policy of nationwide leader Heydar Aliyev.

This policy has continued for 20 years. This policy must be continued for a happy future of Azerbaijan.

Independence is the biggest happiness and the biggest asset. And we are and will be protecting our independence.