Azerbaijan, Baku, 28 January / corr. Trend S. Ilhamgizi / An article by Ramiz Mehdiyev, the head of staff at the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan was published in the press recently under the title of "Determining Future Strategy: the Line of Modernization."
The current economic and political modernization of the country determines the social and cultural transformation of Azerbaijan, Mehdiyev said, commenting on the administration in Azerbaijan for the last 15 years. "The first conditions are democratization and liberalization and they are followed by economic modernization plus stepwise democratization which results in the forming of a civil society," he said.
2008 is an important period to adopt political decisions and the strong state, the modernized economy and the principles of the independent citizen are the key priorities of the near future, he added.
Mehdiyev's article is fundamental in showing the main directions of the development strategy of Azerbaijan and each of these is a strategy which can be realized, Mubariz Gurbanli, the deputy executive secretary of the ruling Eni Azerbaijan party said.
By maintaining internal stability Ilham Aliyev developed the country, introduced Azerbaijan amongst powerful states and strengthened the traditions of the modern and democratic government for the last five years of his presidency, Gurbanli said. "We must determine our future. Azerbaijan freed itself from the Soviet system and chose the way to develop a modern future. Heydar Aliyev saved Azerbaijan from chaos, anarchy, civil confrontation and secured the stability in the country. Ilham Aliyev also continues this way and his policy aims at securing the future welfare of Azerbaijan, the maintenance of our country among the strong countries," Gurbanli said.
According to Gurbanli, the fact that the people support the political course of Ilham Aliyev is not random. One of the key principles of the country's development is the establishment of an independent society and it is a priority of the Government.
According to Gurbanli, the new potential has been established to secure the future development of Azerbaijan and Ilham Aliyev is a leader capable to increase the political, economic and geo-political advantages of the country.
However the Azerbaijani opposition sticks to different positions. The last five years saw the fall rather than the development of Azerbaijan, Sardar Jalaloglu, the chairman of the Azerbaijani Democratic Party said. According to him, the restoration of stability by the administration does not mean that there is stability, he said.
" Azerbaijan is included in the list of non-independent countries where corruption is rife and violation of human rights exists. The inflation rate in the country reached 30% and Azerbaijan is not expected to develop in the near future," he said.
Jalaloglu, however, highly appreciated the cooperation of Azerbaijan with GUAM countries, the balanced policy towards Iran and US, its fight to unite the Turkish language countries and diasporas. "Ilham Aliyev did not give our occupied land to the Armenians which is very important factor," the chairman of the opposition party said.
The transnational projects (oil pipeline Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, gas pipeline Baku-Arzurum and others) implemented by Azerbaijan put an end to Russia's influence on Azerbaijan, Jalaloglu said.
Azerbaijan possesses stability and development, however the situation in the country is not flawless, Rasim Musabayov, the political scientist said. According to him, the fight against the corruption is still talk, it has not been carried out as yet, and there is no independence in the juridical system and the employees lack professionalism.
However Azerbaijan can turn into the authoritative and modern state of the world. "There is need in the Azerbaijani administration for a transformation. It is already obvious that the Government has made it its objective. The main issue is how to accomplish these goals," Musabayov said.