Ilham Aliyev attended the ceremony to mark the supply of drinking water to Shamkir city

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the ceremony to mark the supply of drinking water to Shamkir city.

First, the head of state met with representatives of the district public.

Saluting representatives of the district public, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- There are several events taking place in Shamkir District today. Among them, the supply of drinking water, of course, is particularly important. The implementation of this project is of tremendous importance. Drinking water is a major issue for people. I am very pleased that this important infrastructure project is successfully implemented in Shamkir. I sincerely congratulate you on this occasion.

Drinking water and sewage projects have become widespread in our country. These projects are implemented in various regions of our country, practically everywhere, in every city. In some places we have already attended their opening ceremonies, while in others work is still under way. But the task has been set: by the end of 2015, perhaps even earlier, all cities and most villages should have the supply of clean drinking water. These projects, of course, require a lot of money and hard work. Today, Azerbaijan is a strong state. As the great leader used to say, a state with a strong economy is capable of doing anything. Today the realities of Azerbaijan prove that once again.

The problem of drinking water has always been a major issue and a cause of concern for our country and people. As you know, our main sources of water are formed outside the country. We had to lay and have already laid water supply lines.

Water reservoirs had to be built and have already been built. The construction of one of them, the Shamkirchay reservoir in Shamkir, is ongoing. This reservoir is of great importance as it will provide drinking water to Shamkir and neighboring towns. At the same time, it will enable irrigation of 75,000 hectares of land. Of course, the issues related to water have been a perennial problem in Azerbaijan. In the 1970-1980s, on the instructions of great leader Heydar Aliyev, water supply lines were laid. But today we are trying to achieve and we will achieve a complete solution of these issues. Clean drinking water, which is a major issue for the health of the people, will be supplied to every city. Today we are celebrating this in Shamkir. Some residents are already receiving drinking water round the clock. In the near future the city will be supplied with water in full. Along with this, other infrastructure projects are also implemented in Shamkir. Particular attention is paid to gas supply. As far as I know, the level of gasification is almost 90 per cent. Gasification is now ongoing in the villages – those that have not been supplied with gas yet. All settlements of Shamkir must be provided with natural gas. We will resolve this issue too. We can say that the issue has been resolved for the most part. As in every district, the implementation of social and other infrastructure projects is of great importance.

While visiting Shamkir earlier, I attended several opening ceremonies. I am also expected to attend a number of opening ceremonies today. All this demonstrates the dynamic development of the district. Historical sites and buildings are restored here, streets created, landscaping carried out, a beautiful hotel built. Shamkir is assuming a completely different appearance. The city has indeed become one of the most beautiful cities of our country. Shamkir is one of the fastest growing districts of our country. It makes me very happy. Seeing new things, landscaping and creative work every time, I am just as happy as you are. In Shamkir, everything is done with great taste and great love of the district.

This is my fourth visit to Shamkir. I last came here four years ago. I can say that the city has changed beyond recognition.

It is renewing, becoming a pretty and modern city, while retaining its historical appearance, of course. I sincerely congratulate you on this success.

Indeed, Shamkir is booming. The development of Shamkir is a testament to the overall dynamic development of Azerbaijan. The rapid development of your district shows that regional development programs adopted earlier and successfully implemented now have been tremendously important initiatives. If we hadn’t adopted those programs in 2004 and the second program 2009, it would be impossible to do all this work. It is the presence of programs and the solution of the issues contained in them that have provided for today's realities. All of this work has been done consistently and discreetly. Infrastructure, gas, electricity, water and roads! We have attracted investors and allocated public funds to the regions. The regional development program means annual investment of funds in the amount of hundreds of millions of manats. Over the past 10 years, a total of $150 billion was invested in the country's economy. If we divide this figure by the years, we will have an average of $15 billion a year. For a country the size of Azerbaijan, it is a very large figure. We have received all these funds thanks to a judicious and consistent policy, focused and hard work.

We have achieved this thanks to the hard work and talent of the Azerbaijani people, thanks to our policies. The dynamic development observed in Azerbaijan is not available anywhere else in the world. I am saying this with full confidence and determination. I am not saying this to praise ourselves. It is a reality. No other country has developed and is developing as fast as Azerbaijan in the last decade. This year we have also achieved rapid development. This is demonstrated by the results of six months. The non-oil sector is rapidly growing, jobs are created, poverty is reducing, and our improving cities are an excellent example of that. I want to say again that this reality manifests itself perfectly well in Shamkir. But this does not mean that all the problems have been resolved. No, there are still issues awaiting solution, including those in Shamkir. Among them, I would like to highlight the condition of the central district hospital. According to my information, the hospital is not in good condition. I believe that we have to build a new hospital here in the near future. This is a very important issue. Drinking water, health services, beautiful nature, clean air – we will achieve all this.

I have recently attended the opening ceremonies of wonderful hospitals in different cities. There was one in Yevlakh today, another in Jalilabad a week ago and yet another in Agjabadi two weeks ago. In other words, modern medical services are available in most cities of Azerbaijan. Such a large district as Shamkir has to have a modern and large hospital. We will do this as well. Appropriate measures will be taken by all means. I want to say again that we have the economic strength and political will to take these measures. The work being done further inspires the public and encourages it to do even more so that we could further strengthen our country and make it even richer, so that our people could live in prosperity, peace and security, and so that the dynamic development of our country could be continued. I want to congratulate you on this wonderful event again and, in general, on the great job being done in Shamkir. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has contributed to this work. I want to reassure you that the development of the district will always be in the spotlight.