Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the metting with public representatives of Ganja

Let me warmly salute you all. We are meeting again, and there is a great occasion for this meeting. We are celebrating the reconstruction of Khan Bagi, a historic landmark of Ganja. I am genuinely pleased with the beauty and development here, and so are all the people of Ganja I am sure. Khan Bagi is a very dear place not only for Ganja, but also for the whole of Azerbaijan. It is not just a park for people to walk in and relax, it is our historic heritage. For decades and centuries, our ancestors were creating and safeguarding this beauty. And it is our duty to preserve and restore our historic heritage. Landscaping work has been carried out here at the highest possible level. We can see the best level in the world here.

As you may know, parks in Baku have been improving and becoming prettier. New parks are being established as well. The same holds true for other regions. While in Tovuz District today, I visited a new park. It is also beautiful, but Khan Bagi is very special. It has its own history, its own beauty. I am very glad that renovation and landscaping work has been carried out here over a short time. The park seems to have come to life again. This is a very significant event, which indicates that all the work in our country is being done at the proper level. We are establishing industrial enterprises, social facilities, new parks. There is extensive landscaping work under way. This is the way it should be because our country is developing, modernizing and becoming nicer. In this case, public places, parks and alleys must be at the highest level.

Ganja is an ancient city with great history. I am very pleased that the ancient history of Ganja is being preserved. At the same time, the city is modernizing, being landscaped and becoming nicer, new buildings are being constructed and such beautiful parks reconstructed. A lot has been done for the development of Ganja, and the city will always be in our spotlight in the future. We are establishing industrial enterprises and upgrading the social infrastructure here. The process of establishing major industrial enterprises in Ganja is ongoing. In the near future, we will commission a large metallurgy facility. An aluminum plant and a steel foundry are under construction. Also, we have built a large substation specifically for these plants, and I will take part in their opening today.

We will continue to take all necessary measures for the development of Ganja. Ganja is an ancient city of Azerbaijan, a city that holds a special place in our history. As President, I will try to ensure that all necessary measures are taken for the development of Ganja.

All our districts are doing well, they are reviving and developing. We are creating a social infrastructure, opening new businesses and jobs, building roads in our districts. The Baku-Ganja-Georgian border highway is practically ready. Work is currently under way on a small section of it, and the entire highway will probably be put into operation in a few months. Thus, we will be able to use a comfortable road from Baku to the border. As you may know, previously we reconstructed the Ganja airport, built hospitals, sports facilities, hotels, houses. In other words, there are all the features of a modern city here. Therefore, we simply must move along the same path in the future to make our development permanent. To do that, we have all the opportunities, economic resources and sound policies. All our plans and programs enjoy the support of our people because they are laying the groundwork for long-term development of our country. The enterprises being established today will play a major role in the development of Azerbaijan. Currently, special attention is being paid to the non-oil sector, to the establishment of industrial enterprises. A major role, of course, belongs to the private sector. The government is taking all the measures necessary to develop the private enterprise. On the other hand, the infrastructure projects implemented by the state are enabling these opportunities: electricity and gas supplies, construction of water lines – all this is being done throughout the country. This creates a situation in which Azerbaijan retains its attractiveness for investors. Now we are attracting more investment to the non-oil sector in order to create jobs and completely eliminate unemployment in Azerbaijan.

In recent years, all the adopted programs have been fulfilled, major and effective steps have been taken to eliminate unemployment, serious work has been done to reduce poverty. Of course, people’s livelihoods have improved. But we try to completely eliminate such social evils as poverty and unemployment. We must try to export Azerbaijani products to foreign markets. We have already embarked on this, but should do it even on a larger scale. We must be able to provide for our domestic needs and create a powerful industrial potential, so that Azerbaijan could develop irrespective of the oil factor over decades to come and our people could live well.

We must remember that it would be impossible to do all this work without the economic development. Of course, we should always pay special attention to social issues. We can see this in Ganja, where these issues are being resolved successfully. Every time I am in Ganja, I am pleased to see new things. I am sure this pleases you too. Of course, I am very glad over the reconstruction of Khan Bagi, a historical site of Ganja, to this fine level.

While in Ganja today, I will also review progress of restoration works at the historical and architectural site Imamzade. As you may know, I have issued special instructions on the reconstruction and restoration of the Imamzade site and on the allocation of funds. Now there is work under way there and I will examine it too. We are committed to our national values, religious and ethnic traditions. This has helped the Azerbaijani people survive. Although we have lived within other countries and empires at different times, we have preserved and are cherishing our national and religious traditions. We are restoring, reconstructing and rebuilding historical and religious sites in Azerbaijan, and Imamzade holds a special place among them.

In other words, our work is quite comprehensive and we must ensure progress and development of all spheres. Let me salute you all again and congratulate you on the reconstruction of Khan Bagi.