Dear border guards!

I congratulate you on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Border Guard of Azerbaijan.

On 18 August 1919, a law adopted by the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established the first border guard bodies and thereby laid the foundation for the Border Guard of Azerbaijan.

After the Republic of Azerbaijan restored its independence, the protection of state borders, which are one of the attributes of independence, as well as the restoration of our borders violated as a result of Armenian aggression, have become the most important task facing our state.

National leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev attached special importance to the protection of the state borders of our country. By setting up the State Border Service on 31 July 2002, he determined the way for further development of the Border Guard of Azerbaijan.

The special attention national leader Heydar Aliyev paid to border protection continues to this day. In recent years, the management system of the State Border Service has been improved, the use of modern radio communication and telecommunication systems has been expanded, the organization of border control at state border checkpoints has been brought up to international standards. The combat training and material and technical provision of Border Troops have been significantly enhanced. The establishment of the Academy of the State Border Guard Service by an order signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on 12 June 2007 has made a great contribution to the training of professional personnel loyal to the homeland and state.

Currently, the State Border Service is a mobile, well-organized and important state institution with high discipline and combat readiness, equipped with the most modern weapons and technical hardware and capable of fulfilling its tasks in the field of ensuring the inviolability of borders.

Issues of strengthening the social protection of border guards and rewarding them for their achievements are always in the spotlight of our state.

I am sure that the personnel of the border service will continue to fulfill its important tasks in the field of protecting our state borders with dignity.

Once again, I congratulate you on this significant anniversary and wish you continued success in your important activity for our statehood.

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 16 August, 2019