Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the memorial of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Mehdi Huseynzadeh, in the Slovenian town of Nova Gorica

- Dear President Danilo Turk!

Dear residents of Shempas and Nova Gorica, dear friends!

It is a very momentous and unforgettable day in the history of Slovenian-Azerbaijani relations today. We are gathered for the opening of a memorial museum of a great son of the Azerbaijani people, Hero Mehdi Huseynzadeh – Mikhaylo.

First of all, on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I would like to thank President Danilo Turk, the Slovenian state and people for your great respect for the memory of Mehdi Huseynzadeh.

Together with his Slovenian friends, Mehdi Huseynzadeh fought against fascists as part of a guerilla unit and died as a hero. Thanks to that fight and the joint efforts of our people, we won a collective victory over the evil of fascism. The cherished memory of our heroes always lives on in the hearts of our peoples, and the ceremony today is a graphic example of that.

A total of 600,000 citizens of Azerbaijan fought in World War II, half of them, or 300,000, were killed and never returned home. During the war, Azerbaijani oil workers provided 90 per cent of the fuel that was used by the Soviet army.

It is a very remarkable day for the development of Slovenian-Azerbaijani relations today. New opportunities for further development of these relations are opening up. We are bound together through strong friendship. Our joint economic initiatives are being discussed. There are no disagreements between us as to the prospects for our cooperation.

Respect and kind attitude towards our heroes and their memory are making our relations even stronger. I want to thank the Slovenian state, President of the Republic of Slovenia personally, for this kind attitude. I want to reassure you that the Azerbaijani side, for its part, will make every effort for the development of bilateral relations. Thanks to our joint activities even better results will be achieved.

Today, I am completing my official visit to Slovenia. The two-day visit has been very fruitful. My assessment of the visit results is very positive. I want to thank all of you for inviting me to Slovenia, and for the sincere hospitality our delegation and myself have enjoyed.

In conclusion, I would like to say at the bust of Mehdi Huseyhzadeh: Long live Slovenian-Azerbaijani friendship!