The large-scale creative work under way in our country is pleasing us all. Our country is developing and strengthening. This manifests itself through statistical indicators. At the same time, we can see these positive changes in our daily lives. Extensive creative and improvement work is under way both in all our cities and districts.

The Azerbaijani economy has been developing at the highest pace in the world in recent years. Our achievements in this area are also recognized by the world community. Influential international organizations are giving a positive assessment to the reforms under way in Azerbaijan.

In other words, the dynamic development has enabled us to create additional opportunities for the comprehensive progress of our country. Without a doubt, underlying this development are economic and political reforms and Azerbaijan’s successful oil policy. This policy has allowed us to earn major financial resources and channel them into our economy with a high degree of efficiency, so that the well-being of our people further improved and the development of our country was successful and long-term.

Over the last seven years, the Azerbaijani economy grew almost three times, budget expenditure increased 12 times, the level of poverty dropped 4.5 times, while unemployment has been reduced dramatically. In other words, the main figures demonstrating any country’s economic and social performance explicitly demonstrate our development.

I am sure that Azerbaijan’s successful development will be continued in the coming years too, because the programs and projects that have been adopted and are currently under way will create conditions for us to meet this objective. We have recently conducted extensive discussions of the results of yet another year in the execution of the State Program on socioeconomic development of districts. We have exchanged views on further measures to implement our development strategy. The successful implementation of the State Program on socioeconomic development of districts has enabled development in all regions of Azerbaijan, facilitated the strengthening of all our regions and, therefore, diversified our economic development.

Along with that, we are attaching tremendous importance to the development of Baku. Baku is our capital and one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Of course, the attention being paid to Baku and the investment made in the city have played a positive role in developing our city. But our goal has been to reduce the difference between districts and Baku, and to a certain extent we have achieved that. If this difference is still quite big today, it is not because our districts are not developing. The reason is that Baku has been developing very rapidly in recent years.

But we will continue our policies. I am convinced that the projects under way in districts now will lead to the strengthening of both the social and industrial infrastructure. We must ensure that all conditions are created in every region and district for people to live and work normally. I want to repeat that extensive work is under way to that end. We have held broad discussions on these issues at a recent meeting on the development of our districts, and there is no need for repeating anything.

Today we will focus on the development directions of the settlements surrounding Baku, and identify new programs.

Let me repeat that enormous attention is being paid to the development of Baku. Our efforts towards turning Baku into a modern megacity are yielding fruit. There is successful creative and landscaping work in our city, infrastructure projects are being implemented. I want to reiterate that Baku has become one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in the truest meaning of the word. I am absolutely convinced of that.

Of course, the city is growing, and so is its population. In the past, infrastructure projects were designed for fewer people. Today the population has increased, and we must ensure that the entire infrastructure, all public utilities and transportation capacities meet the demand of our growing city. Extensive work has been done in our city in recent years. In particular, a lot has been done in the road and transport sector. Those measures were taken in a timely manner. If they hadn’t been taken, the Baku transport network would be paralyzed today. We are aware of the problems certain major cities have faced. We can see that in a number of cases road traffic in these cities grinds to a halt for hours. To prevent this from happening here, we embarked on the implementation of large-scale road construction projects in our city several years ago.

I can say that in the last several years 23 overhead crossings, bridges, tunnels have been commissioned and road expansion projects implemented in our city. In places where there were no roads, new roads have been built. New directions have been opened to make traffic more comfortable.

Besides, 32 pedestrian crossings have been built in our city. All the crossings built earlier have also been renovated and are now architectural masterpieces. Some of them have escalators for people’s convenience. All the pedestrian crossings meet the highest standards. The construction of pedestrian crossings is ongoing. Even in the city center, due to the construction of new roads, the need for such pedestrian crossings is greater still. The expansion of roads has certainly necessitated additional conditions for pedestrians.

An intellectual transport management center will be commissioned in Baku this year. The center will meet international standards and enable us to use the most sophisticated technologies in regulating traffic. This will contribute further to resolving the problem of congested traffic in the city.

Numerous new and modern buses have been brought to Baku. New taxis will be brought soon. In other words, our approach to the development of the transport infrastructure is comprehensive. A lot still remains to be done in Baku. New projects are being implemented. All these projects have one goal: to create a transport infrastructure meeting modern requirements in our city. I can say that we have completed most of this work. The remainder will be done in the coming years.

The implementation of infrastructure projects in our city is paying off. In particular, there have been major and drastic changes in the energy supply in recent years, substations have been built, transformers renewed, and this process is ongoing. A lot still remains to be done this year and in the years to come to ensure a reliable and uninterrupted energy supply of our city. Let me repeat that the population of our city is growing, and all infrastructure projects must meet and be ahead of this growth.

The process of gasification is successfully under way in our city, including the settlements. Ninety-seven per cent of Baku now has gas supply. But we must ensure complete gasification in the near future. At the same time, gas pressure is not always at the proper level, especially in settlements. We must improve it, so that this issue is completely resolved.

I am sure that following the commissioning of the Oguz-Gabala-Baku water line, the water supply of Baku will significantly improve soon. This line will operate at full capacity soon, and 70 per cent of our city will have high-quality drinking water. A reliable supply of water will be ensured. It is necessary to take extra measures to provide the rest of our city with drinking water. We will talk about that today.

The AzerIstilik Union was established several years ago to provide the population with heating. This organization does certain work every year, the process of heating of new homes, schools and other facilities is under way. These issues must also be resolved as part of a new program on the development of our city and settlements that will soon be adopted. The key problem here, as the people of Baku know very well, is that when heating supply was cut off, the wall radiators were removed in some households. Now there are problems with restoring them. But we must approach this issue with a great deal of care. Therefore, this important issue will be resolved.

A lot has been done in recent years to improve our city. First of all, we have restored historical buildings. We can say that all historical buildings in the city center have been restored to a high quality standard and with good taste. I can say that the restoration of every building was treated with special attention. Specialists and people knowing the subject well were attracted. All historical buildings of Baku are our national assets. The process of restoration of these buildings has been successfully completed, and these buildings have been reborn, we have breathed a new life into them. Restoration work was not limited only to the appearance of buildings. It has also affected building basements. Communications and elevators in buildings have been renewed, roofing renovated. This process is ongoing, as we are currently restoring the buildings constructed in previous years not only in the center but also on the outskirts of the city. Major funds are being allocated to do that, and we must carry on doing this work. First of all, it is necessary to lend the buildings their original appearance. On the other hand, it is highly important to restore the buildings whose service life has already expired.

It is possible to say that central parks of our city have now been refurbished. Today these parks appeal to the eye. There are wonderful conditions for rest, services meeting modern standards are provided there. All our central parks have been renovated with good taste, in some cases they were renovated, in others reconstructed anew. Besides, new parks have been set up in places where there were run-down buildings or facilities that were impairing the view of Baku. They were moved elsewhere and new parks were established instead. For instance, new parks have been established and commissioned in industrial areas of Baku. This process will be continued because the vast majority of industrial enterprises built in the center in the past either do not operate or operate inefficiently. We are and will be gradually moving them elsewhere. There should be no industrial enterprises in the center. New parks, homes, recreation facilities, public places are being set up instead, and this process is successfully under way. This issue is always on our agenda, and work on setting up new parks will be continued in the coming years too.

Creative and landscaping work in our city has gained momentum. We can say that all our main theaters and museums have been refurbished. New museums, including the Carpet Museum that will become a unique architectural site, are under construction. Other historical buildings that will enrich our cultural life have either already been renovated or their renovation is ongoing. All culture centers of our city needing renewing will be renovated in the coming years. A grandiose Center of Heydar Aliyev is under construction in Baku. It has already been listed among treasures of the world architecture. Its construction is still ongoing, but images of the Center have already paved the way to best-known catalogues. In other words, it will become a unique architectural site on the global scale. At the same time, the Center has tremendous functional importance. Few will remember that this place used to be occupied by a major plant. It was named after Schmidt, then after Sattarkhan. The already dilapidated plant used to cover dozens of hectares. The plant was moved out, and a large park is being set up there. A nice park is being established around the Center of Heydar Aliyev on an area of nine hectares at the entrance to downtown Baku. There will be beautiful places for rest there. By setting up parks in our city we achieve not only the aesthetic goal. At the same time, they will serve as the “lungs” of our city. We are now working on certain projects to establish green belts in the city center, in places where old and run-down industrial enterprises or apartment blocks are located. Work will be carried out to move them elsewhere. If these are apartment blocks, compensation will be paid in accordance with market prices, as has been the case all along, and new parks and green belts will be established instead. This will have a positive impact on the environment in our city.

Comprehensive measures are being taken to resolve environmental issues. We have already adopted the Euro-2 standard. But this is only our first step. We must switch to the Euro-3, Euro-4 standards to further improve the environmental situation in our city. Smoke that used to envelop the entire city is no longer billowing from the Balakhani landfill. It is gone. We have removed this garbage dump and a large park is being established in its place now. A domestic wastes disposal plant is currently under construction. It requires major resources. This project is financed from the state budget, the plant is likely to be commissioned in a year or two. This will be a plant of world level. A total of 3 million trees were planted in Baku last year alone. Now we need to take a good care of these trees because in some cases they wither for natural reasons. Therefore, special instructions have been issued to conduct irrigation and take care of the trees, so that this process is always under control. This process will be continued this year and in the coming years. The tree-planting process in our city will be carried on intensively. I have issued a special instruction that trees be planted on wasteland, in visible places. A major green belt will be created on the Bayil slope. The mountains surrounding Baku are bare now. But they will be covered with forests, the environmental situation there will improve and a panorama delighting the eye will emerge.

One of the symbols of Baku, the seaside boulevard, has been thoroughly rebuilt. The boulevard has a history of 100 years. I believe that this has been the first rebuilding and repair work on it over the course of 100 years. The boulevard has been expanded – we have expanded it up to the sea. People can now approach the sea. There are great places for walking there. Tens of thousands of people come to the boulevard, especially in spring and summer months. We have breathed a new life into the boulevard. We remember too well that not many people wanted to go for a walk in the boulevard several years ago. Its infrastructure was in a deplorable situation, services were at a low level, there was complete darkness, not a single lamppost would work, their pillars had become obsolete and covered with rust. To be honest, people felt ashamed of coming to the boulevard. We were about to lose it. The people of Baku preferred to walk in the Fountains Square and other places. But we have revived the boulevard. We have brought it to a condition that makes our boulevard number one in the world. There are embankments in other cities located on waterfront, but there is no boulevard as beautiful and broad as ours. We are currently implementing a project on extending the boulevard – it will be extended both to the right and to the left. We have already launched the process of removing the trade seaport. We are setting up a new port in the Alat settlement, parks are and will be established instead of the current seaport, and the boulevard will be extended. At the same time, the boulevard will be extended to the Flag Square. There is a shipyard and other old plants there now. We are now trying to move them elsewhere, and a new magnificent boulevard will be built from the Indoor Games Palace to the Flag Square. Thus, the length of the boulevard will be extended from 4 km at present to 10 km, maybe even more.

The Flag Square is a unique monument of architecture, a symbol of our independence. It has the highest flagpole and the biggest flag in the world. This project has been in spotlight all along. The Flag Square was officially opened in Azerbaijan in September of last year. There is also a museum there. Extensive landscaping work is currently under way on an area surrounding the square. The Flag Square itself covers around 6 hectares, while the territory around it is 60 hectares. There is extensive creative work under way there: parks are being established, the boulevard, places for rest and walks. I do hope that this project will be completed before the end of this year. Afterwards, roads leading to the Flag Square will be built, new roads will be laid, and a huge and magnificent square, perhaps the biggest square in the world, will be created for people to walk in.

In addition to that, every resident of Baku is pleased with the improvement work in the Old City. In the past, due to the poor organization of work, our national asset, the Old City, was crossed out of the UNESCO World Heritage List. We have done a lot of work there, created a whole new infrastructure, rebuilt and restored the Old City. We have succeeded in having the Old City, a masterpiece of the world architecture, be included on the UNESCO list again. Today, both the residents of Baku and our visitors can see the ancient culture and history of Azerbaijan in the Old City. The work under way there is at the highest possible level. Besides, I can say that there are not too many ancient cities and historical monuments in the world. Most of them are in European cities. The Old City is noted for its beauty, cleanliness and delicacy, the services provided. This is our attitude to our history, to ancient culture. At the same time, the creation of a modern infrastructure and landscaping work are steps into the future. Baku combines these two notions: ancient history and modernity. The same holds true for our country – Azerbaijan lives its own independent life. Our state is built on a solid national and spiritual values. But it is oriented towards the future – modernization, development, progress.

The key objective of this meeting is to discuss the development of settlements around Baku and adopt a large and comprehensive program on their development in the near future. We held a similar meeting in this building, the mayor’s office, in late 2005. After that, in 2006, a special program on the development of villages and settlements of Baku was adopted. That program was over-fulfilled. I remember that meeting well. The elders from Baku settlements expressed their opinions and made suggestions then. They are here today too. A program was adopted on the basis of their suggestions and recommendations, and a lot was done for the development of settlements.

However, I repeat, life doesn’t stand still. Baku and all our regions are developing. There are special programs on the development of regions, covering 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. So we do know what needs to be done in this field. There are special execution mechanisms, financial resources are already available and there are projects. Similar processes must be conducted in the settlements around Baku. At times the work under way there does not meet the present-day level of our country. Therefore, we will discuss a special program on the development of settlements around Baku today. I have already issued an instruction to adopt this program shortly, both on the basis of suggestions and recommendations from the ground and proposals from relevant state bodies that will be made now.

Additional funds must be envisaged for the program in this year’s budget. True, our budget has already been approved, but it will probably have to be amended so that the program can be implemented. Projects on the development of settlements, social infrastructure, schools, medical facilities, roads in and between settlements, communications, gas and water supply – all this, as well as the opening of new jobs, must be resolved by our program.

I can say that a lot has been done in the Baku settlements in recent years. Thirty-four schools and 18 medical institutions have been built and renovated over the last several years. As I have mentioned, the process of gasification is in full swing, and we must complete it. We will do whatever it takes to develop the settlements because the settlements around Baku are home to over 800,000 people. This is a large city in itself, and these settlements must be brought to the level of the city. This, let me repeat, requires financial resources, which we have. It also requires political will, and we have that too. We already have qualified professionals. We have the equipment and companies capable of doing any work. This will be very hard work. All state bodies, local executive authorities, municipalities, residents of villages and settlements – we all must work towards one goal, the goal of achieving the desired result in a short time.

I think that we must implement this program in two or three years at the latest. I do understand that this is immense work. The information I had when the tentative instruction was issued shows that we will actually have to rebuild these settlements because the infrastructure there is in a deplorable plight. There is a problem of unemployment. In other words, we must approach this issue very attentively. It is necessary to provide support for the development of small and medium-sized enterprise there. Thus, the implementation of a program on the development of settlements with a total population of 800,000 people requires very hard work. But we must do this hard work. This is demonstrated by the present-day successful development of Azerbaijan. In the last several years we have achieved the most rapid development on the global scale. The most rapid development in the world is in Azerbaijan. This is seen and recognized by everyone in the world. Even those who don’t like us have to accept that. Every citizen, foreign visitor coming to Baku and our regions can’t help admiring this beauty, improvement, cleanliness. We have done that. Therefore, we will resolve the problems of our settlements too. This meeting is primarily connected with these issues, and we will discuss them.