Opening speech by Ilham Aliyev at the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to results of socio-economic development in first half of 2018 and future objectives

- Today we will discuss the results of six months of the year and talk about the work to be done.

I can say that all our objectives were successfully met in six months of the year and Azerbaijan was able to maintain the pace of dynamic development. This year, Azerbaijan has achieved success both in the economic sphere and in the field of international politics.

The presidential election held in April showed once again that the Azerbaijani people are very supportive of our policy. The landslide victory I won in the election shows that the Azerbaijani people highly appreciate the work done over the past 15 years. This tremendous support will allow us the opportunity to continue to lead our country forward along the path of development.

The results of opinion polls conducted before the election and exit polls on election day coincide with official results. This shows once again that the will of the Azerbaijani people was fully reflected in the election. The election was transparent and fair, and Azerbaijan demonstrated to the whole world again what a modern and democratic country it is, a country where all freedoms are guaranteed.

Those who tried to cast a shadow over the elections failed yet again. Their faded attempts were not accepted by Azerbaijani society. The society rejected their actions. Vivid evidence of that was the fact that they failed to attract more than a thousand people at the “protest” rally held after the election. This is yet another fiasco for them, which shows again that our people do not see and do not accept an alternative to our policy. And our people will continue to support our policy. Our policy ensures the interests of the people. It is a policy of independence, a policy of development. It is because of our policy that Azerbaijan has covered a great and glorious road over the past 15 years and currently holds very high places in terms of all development indicators on a global scale.

After the election, the heads of state and government of many countries sent me congratulatory messages. Among them were the heads of state and government of all the leading countries of the world. This shows once again that the international community treats Azerbaijan with great respect and confidence. The democratic processes taking place in Azerbaijan are highly appreciated by the world community and leading states of the world.

As for our foreign policy, I can say that a lot of work has been done in this area in the first six months of this year. Azerbaijan has managed to strengthen its international relations. We have traditionally friendly relations and strategic partnership with neighboring states. During these six months, I have met with the heads of state and government of neighboring countries several times. Meetings are also scheduled for the latter half of the year. As you know, Azerbaijan is a country enjoying great respect and authority in the Muslim world. The Year of Islamic Solidarity declared in Azerbaijan last year has further strengthened these ties. As you know, Nakhchivan is the capital of Islamic culture this year. The traditionally friendly and fraternal ties with Muslim countries have become even stronger.

We are currently working on a new Agreement with the European Union. Azerbaijan has documents on strategic partnership with a third of European Union member-countries. This, of course, shows that Azerbaijan is a country of strategic importance for Europe.

I can say that our ties with the United States of America have risen to a new level in the first half of this year. In April and May, US President Donald Trump sent me three letters. The messages sent on the occasion of the election, then the 100th anniversary of the Democratic Republic and the official opening of the Southern Gas Corridor demonstrate the attitude and respect of the American government towards Azerbaijan. The messages contain very valuable words, and we are glad that US-Azerbaijan relations reflect their true essence today. I am sure that these ties will strengthen further in the coming years.

Thus, as a result of our successful foreign policy, Azerbaijan was able to establish very fruitful, businesslike and equitable relations with practically all countries and power centers. These relations are based on the principles of mutual trust, respect and non-interference in each other's affairs. Thus, there is a wonderful international atmosphere for the successful development of our country. I can say that we created this atmosphere ourselves. I am sure that we will continue to pursue a consistent policy in this direction.

This year Baku hosted a conference of foreign ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement, the second biggest organization for the number of members in the world. This event also expressed support for our policy. Starting from next year, Azerbaijan will chair this major and authoritative organization. The Summit will be held in Azerbaijan next year. This is a further manifestation of respect for our country. It shows that our policy enjoys sympathy and deserves a lot of respect.

Just have a look at what is happening in Armenia on this positive background. After 20 years, the criminal, corrupt, thievish and deceitful government of bloodsuckers has collapsed. The Armenian people today are saying what I have been saying all along. I have accused the former authorities of Armenia from the highest platforms, from the UN rostrum. I said that this is a regime of the criminal junta, and now the Armenian people are saying this too. I said that this is a thievish and corrupt regime, and now the Armenian people are saying this too. I said that this is a regime that suck the blood of its own people. The regime of Sargsyan disgracefully thrown out of power actually represents a collapse of Armenian statehood. After all, if 20 out of 26 years of independence have passed under this government, then what positive qualities does this state have?! Armenia is a loser state. Armenian statehood has suffered a fiasco. Their heroes, their generals are thieves, their army is an army of thieves. Today, the people of Armenia see this, the Armenian authorities say this. Justice has triumphed, and the thievish and criminal regime that ruled Armenia for 20 years has completely disgraced itself and was expelled from the political arena. I can say that we also played a role in the fall of this regime. I do not want to blow this out of proportion and, as they say, take credit for that. However, the truth is that as a result of our policy, Armenia was deprived of all the projects that could bring it an income. We have successfully carried out a policy of isolation against them and, without fearing anyone, I have repeatedly said this to the Azerbaijani people and foreign partners. As long as our lands are under occupation, we will pursue the policy of isolation against Armenia. As a result of this policy, Armenia has suffered an economic collapse. It is safe to say that Armenia has no economic prospects. It is unlikely that anyone will want to invest in this country. The demographic situation of this country is deplorable. I have repeatedly said that at least 50,000-60,000 people leave Armenia every year. The new government confirms this today. So our isolation policy has played a role and we have isolated Armenia from all regional projects. A country that has no economic prospects will not have development and investment, and people's mood will also be low.

I must also note that the April fights that took place two years ago further undermined the rotten and shaky foundations of Armenia. The April fights became such a huge blow to the regime of Sargsyan that they could not recover from it in two years, and the myth they created of their allegedly strong army was shattered to pieces, of course. We have destroyed this myth. In a matter of a few days, we destroyed the "strong defense" they had been creating on the line of contact for many years. And this caused great disappointment in Armenian society. Therefore, everything that happened to Armenia was inevitable and logical. The main reason for this was the anti-national policy pursued by the criminal regime, and the confident policy pursued by Azerbaijan, including the pace of our development. After all, the Armenian population is well aware of Azerbaijan's rise: stability within the country, development, international relations, economic development, army building, and solution of social issues. The difference between us is like between heaven and earth, and this was shown again: Armenia was put in such a difficult situation by its own predatory policy. If it were not for their occupation, Armenia could participate in the projects being implemented on our initiative. Like other countries, they could take advantage of our opportunities and, of course, their economic situation could be good today. They found themselves in this situation as a result of the policy of the criminal and thievish regime which sucked the blood of the Armenian people for 20 years. I do hope that the new government of Armenia does not repeat the mistakes of the criminal regime, takes a constructive position on the conflict, the conflict is resolved soon and the territorial integrity of our country is restored.

As for the settlement of the conflict, there is only one way: the occupying forces must withdraw from the occupied lands, the territorial integrity of our country must be restored, and the four resolutions of the UN Security Council must be implemented. These resolutions are in force and they explicitly state – if anyone has forgotten, I can remind you – that Armenian armed forces must immediately and unconditionally withdraw from the occupied lands. These resolutions are and will be in force. Therefore, the settlement of the conflict depends on the implementation of these resolutions, and Azerbaijan, of course, will pursue its principled policy.

As I have already noted, our international ties are strengthening and support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is growing. It is possible to say that the agreements we have signed with many countries reflect a thesis on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the territorial integrity of our country. This topic is always tabled during our contacts with international organizations we cooperate with, and our policy enjoys great support. Nagorno-Karabakh is our ancestral and historical land, and we must restore our territorial integrity. A lot of work has been done in this direction. Our people are regularly provided with information about this. My numerous visits to military units are covered in the media. Displays of the military hardware we acquire are organized on a regular basis. Of course, the military parade held last month is vivid evidence of our military potential. The Azerbaijani army demonstrated to the whole world what it is capable of. Our army is among leading armies of the world in terms of material and technical equipment, weaponry, ammunition, equipment, and the military parade showed this.

At the same time, the fighting efficiency of our army is at a high level, and recent history has shown this. The April battles of 2016 and the great victory we won, the Nakhchivan operation of May 2018 and the liberation of thousands of hectares of land from occupiers are all evidence of the fighting capacity of the Azerbaijani army. The opposite side is well aware of that, and their appeals to international organizations are tantamount to an acknowledgement of defeat. If you have a strong army, why do you ask international organizations for help? Why do you complain about Azerbaijan to international organizations? You occupied these lands with the support of foreign countries. At that time, an anti-national and corrupt government of deserters dominated Azerbaijan. The scum of those deserters call themselves the opposition today. At that time, they fled and disappeared, leaving the country in a deplorable state. They sold our lands. The PFPA-Musavat tandem is the biggest traitor. There were probably no traitors like them in the centuries of our history. It is for this reason that Armenia, with direct participation and support of foreign states, seized our lands at that time. And today they complain about us, appeal to international organizations, ask for help, or else Azerbaijan will suffocate them. Leave our lands and then you can live peacefully. Countries and people living in fear are in constant stress. This negatively affects their psychological state. We are already seeing this and there may be even greater consequences.

Azerbaijan is confidently moving forward in building the army. In the military parade, we have demonstrated a part of our potential – both in terms of quantity and types of weaponry. Our major financial resources allow us the opportunity to purchase any military equipment and bring it into a state of readiness. The changes and adjustments made to our budget this year are also aimed at increasing the army expenditure, and our military spend will be at a very high level next year too.

Of course, our development is underpinned by thought-out policies, a strong will and a strong economy. We have managed to create a strong economy. We do not depend on anyone today. We are the masters of our own destiny and have made major strides in the economic sphere. The indicators of the last 15 years clearly demonstrate this. There is no other country in the world that would achieve such development in the last 15 years. We have managed to maintain our economic power even in the years of crisis. I can say that we managed to overcome the crisis with minimum losses.

The indicators for this year suggest that the reforms carried out in previous years and this year are giving excellent results. I want to cite some figures for the Azerbaijani people. Thus, in six months of the year, the gross domestic product increased by 1.3 per cent. I think that this is a good indicator. Even better is the fact that our non-oil sector grew by 2 per cent. Industrial production has increased by 1 per cent, but this is also an acceptable figure. The non-oil industry grew by 8.8 per cent. This shows that investment in the non-oil sector and the support for entrepreneurs are bearing fruit.

Agriculture grew by 7.6 per cent. I want to specifically note plant growing, where growth was more than 14 per cent. A total of 67,000 jobs were created. Of these, 58,000 are permanent. A total of $6 billion was invested in the country's economy. Inflation is only at 3 per cent. The monetary incomes of the population have increased by 9.3 per cent. The low level of inflation indicates that macroeconomic stability is fully ensured in our country.

Foreign trade grew by 35 per cent. Exports have increased by 34 per cent, including non-oil exports by 20 per cent. The positive balance of foreign trade is $4.2 billion, and it will increase even more by the end of the year, of course. This is a very high figure, which shows again that macroeconomic stability is fully ensured.

In a word, these are our key economic indicators. Let me also add that our foreign exchange reserves have grown since the beginning of the year. They now amount to $44.3 billion. This figure will further increase by the end of the year. This shows that we are developing very confidently. Economic development will be continued. A lot of work has been done in the industrial and agricultural sectors this year. There are already excellent results. We will talk about that later. I am sure that there will be good results by the end of the year. Thus, the dynamic development of our country is being ensured.

The first half of this year has seen important events taking place both in transport and energy sectors. The Alat International Trade Seaport was put into operation in May. This is a huge event. I can say that it is the second biggest event in the transport sector after last year’s commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. The port of Alat successfully operates now. It is of great importance for transforming Azerbaijan into an international transport and logistical center.

Major steps have also been taken in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. Its official opening took place in May. This is a historic event. And the official opening of TANAP took place in June. Thus, three of the four Southern Gas Corridor projects have already been implemented – Shah Deniz-2, the South Caucasus Pipeline and TANAP projects. The fourth project, TAP, is being implemented on schedule.

These are the main achievements in the first six months of this year. Of course, it would take us hours to talk about all the achievements. In the next part of the meeting we will talk about the work done and outline plans for the future.