Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the meeting with representatives of the general public in Jalilabad

Good afternoon! First of all, I want to sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. I wish all the people of Jalilabad District continued successes, happiness and good health.

The problem of drinking water in the city of Jalilabad is being resolved on these wonderful holidays as well. I am aware that that the water problem was a serious issue of concern for the people of Jalilabad for many years. Water supply was intermittent, for several hours a day. There were days when there was no water at all. This issue has been resolved for good now, and the city of Jalilabad now has a round-the-clock supply of quality drinking water fully compliant with the standards of the World Health Organization. This is a major and historic event. I always note that the implementation of such projects shows that the people of Azerbaijan are at the center of our policy. This is a purely social project. This project required major funds, and the Azerbaijani government allocated these funds so that the people of Jalilabad could be provided with clean and quality drinking water.

The implementation of this project demonstrates the development of our country. It shows that Azerbaijan is successfully developing today and large funds are allocated for social and economic projects. We have fairly extensive financial opportunities. Azerbaijan is one of the countries that live at their own expense. We pursue a consistent policy to meet all the tasks on our agenda.

The implementation of drinking water projects has gained momentum in our country now. The task has been set of resolving the issue of drinking water in every city, and we are approaching this goal. At the same time, these issues are being addressed in villages and settlements. We use different opportunities. Water treatment plants are built in villages along rivers and water mains are laid at the same time. In a word, the problem of drinking water in Azerbaijan is being resolved and will be resolved comprehensively. I can say that this is a factor that has the most positive effect on public health. Water is life, and clean water is a healthy life. The people of Azerbaijan should be healthy. The Azerbaijani state is doing a lot to achieve this goal.

You are well aware that the number of people who have undergone clinical examination, which has been conducted in our country for several years, has reached 5 million. We provide this service free of charge, at the expense of the state. How did that become possible? Because there are modern medical facilities everywhere now, including Jalilabad District. I attended the opening of both medical institutions – the Diagnostic Center and the Central District Hospital. These two large institutions serve the people of Jalilabad District very well.

In general, a lot of attention is being paid to the development of Jalilabad District. I have been to the district many times. This is my eighth trip as President, and each time I attended the opening of various facilities. Many social projects have been implemented in the district in recent years. As I mentioned, a hospital, a diagnostic center, an Olympic center, a chess school, a youth center, and more than 20 schools have been built. Four rural road projects have been implemented. The implementation of these projects has benefited 100,000 people because the scope of these four projects is very large. They cover more than 60 villages.

Today I also opened the Jalilabad-Masalli and Masalli-Lankaran highway. This is also a wonderful project. An excellent main road is being laid from Baku to Astara now. Of course, the people of all the districts located in this direction will take advantage of these opportunities. For the city of Jalilabad, this is of particular importance because the previous main road passed through the city center and inevitably led to certain problems – the trucks and a large flow of cars disturbed people. A new route has now opened and this issue will also be resolved.

Other issues are being resolved in Jalilabad as well. The process of gasification is under way. It is still at the level of 70 per cent, but it will grow. Compared to previous years, this is a great achievement. However, we must try to ensure that our villages are supplied with gas to the maximum possible extent. In Jalilabad District there are more than 100 villages, and we will try to ensure that gas lines are extended to the majority of the villages. The issue of drinking water has been resolved today. I believe that electricity is not a problem. Of course, social and economic issues are on the agenda.

The development of agriculture in Jalilabad is proceeding at an accelerated pace. A lot of attention is being paid to all branches of agriculture, especially in recent years. In Jalilabad too, the entrepreneurs are very positive about this. Agricultural production is growing. At the same time, according to the information provided to me, agricultural produce grown in Jalilabad is now being exported to foreign markets. This is good for the well-being of our people. It is also good for our country because it brings our country hard currency. Of course, we will pay even more attention to this sphere in the coming years. At the same time, work will be done to engage new irrigated lands. There is a great need for that. New irrigation projects are being implemented on tens of thousands of hectares in our country. This year, water will be supplied to more than 100,000 hectares of land that were not irrigated before. This will be the case next year as well. The area of irrigated land is not particularly great in Jalilabad District. I was informed that about 10 per cent of the land is being irrigated now. We need to take additional measures and allocate funds in order to increase irrigated areas. Then the yields will be even better. I am sure that the development of agriculture and entrepreneurship, the establishment of processing enterprises will become the key direction for Jalilabad District in the coming years.

As for infrastructure projects, we can say that all of them have been implemented and are ongoing – drinking water, electricity, gasification, rural roads, main roads, social facilities, hospitals, diagnostic centers, schools. In other words, the entire social complex has been renewed. The city is also improving and becoming even more beautiful. As President, I first visited Jalilabad in 2004. In 13 years, Jalilabad has come a long way, the city has become beautiful and improved, and new opportunities have appeared.

Today's event is very significant. It coincides with Eid al-Adha. However, this is no coincidence. I think that this project is a wonderful present for the city of Jalilabad on this holiday. I congratulate you on this occasion again and wish you continued success.