Friday February 1, 2013

Aliyev’s vision for Azerbaijan

REFERRING to the report, “Mexico City removes Azerbaijan leader’s statute”, published in The Star on Jan 28, based on an AFP report, it is necessary to mention that Azerbaijan enjoys economic prosperity thanks to the solid foundation laid by the national leader Heydar Aliyev in 1993-2003.

Thanks to his economic vision, Azerbaijan is now capable of making significant investments into economies of countries around the world, including Mexico. As a token of appreciation of Azerbaijani investments, the Mexico City Government decided to erect a monument of the Azerbaijani national leader in August 2012. Therefore, the decision to remove the monument six months later is a sign of inconsistency.

As a true leader of his country, Heydar Aliyev managed to end the civil war and stopped the aggression of neighbouring Armenia by signing the ceasefire agreement. The poverty line dropped to 6% from 50%.

Azerbaijan plays an important role in energy security of Europe and proved itself as a reliable partner in the uncompromising fight against global terrorism.

It should be underlined that under the steadfast leadership of Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan has become a member of major human rights organisations and notable progress has been made towards democracy.

We understand that there is still a lot to do to reach the required democratic standards. However, it is also important to bear in mind that Azerbaijan is situated in a very tough neighbourhood and, unlike Mexico, it doesn’t enjoy the border line with the cradle of democracy, the United States.

Therefore, along with other factors, the geopolitical context and external political environment should especially be considered.

TAHIR KARIMOV

Ambassador of Azerbaijan

News

Friday February 1, 2013

Aliyev’s vision for Azerbaijan