Baku, Azerbaijan, March 23
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
Today, Azerbaijani voter appreciates the activity of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, expresses readiness to support him at the upcoming presidential election and pins great hopes on the president’s activity, Hijran Huseynova, chairperson of Azerbaijan’s State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, doctor of political sciences, professor, member of the Political Council of the New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), told Trend.
She said that every citizen wants to live a safe life, to develop, to establish in society, and most importantly, to be confident of the future.
“All of the above mentioned may become real if the people have a leader who fulfills his or her promises, who is the guarantor of stability, who gained high prestige on the international arena and ensures prosperity of the country as a president of every Azerbaijani,” Huseynova said.
She noted that hostile relations and intolerance among the countries are observed in different parts of the world, ethnic cleansing, terrorist acts are taking place and there are numerous facts of religious, national and racial discrimination.
“Against the backdrop of all this, people in Azerbaijan live in conditions of security, tolerance and friendship,” she added. “Of course, stability is the core of this development. We have achieved this not only due to our cultural qualities, hospitality, beautiful nature, but also thanks to the well-thought-out policy pursued by the head of state.”
She noted that the last 15 years of the 26-year period of Azerbaijan’s independence are especially important.
“Over the past period of his activity, President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly proved that he is the president of every Azerbaijani,” she said. “During this time, the head of state, having further developed the ideas of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, implemented successful domestic and foreign policy.”
Huseynova noted that as a result, Azerbaijan has become even stronger as an independent state and has affirmed its own stance on a global scale.
“The most prestigious international events took place in the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku,” she said. “Important cultural, political and sporting events were held in our country, such as the Eurovision Song Contest, the European Games, the Islamic Solidarity Games, which are in the spotlight of the whole world.”
“Extension of the contract, which envisages for the operation of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field until 2050, commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, as well as implementation of large-scale projects in the energy, oil and gas sectors, further increased the strategic importance of our country,” she added. “Azerbaijan implements important projects, and their importance is obvious not only for the country’s people, but also for the neighboring countries and for the whole world.”
Huseynova noted that over the past period, very important changes have taken place in Azerbaijan, which is going through a period of modern development.
She added that successful state administration of President Ilham Aliyev, the system reforms conducted under his leadership, the programs aimed at social and economic development of the Azerbaijani districts positively affect the lives of families, including women and children.
“President Ilham Aliyev always notes that Azerbaijani citizens and their interests are at the core of our policy, and we see a clear evidence of these words in the activities of the head of state,” Huseynova said. “As a result of the unified state policy, Azerbaijan has been developing dynamically in the economic, political, cultural, social, military and sports spheres. Our economy grew 3.2 times, while the non-oil economy grew 2.8 times. Important projects were implemented to create a new infrastructure, lay roads to the districts and villages, supply them with gas.”
She added that presently, the unemployment rate in Azerbaijan is at five percent, and poverty rate is at 5.4 percent.
“The level of registration in primary, secondary and upper secondary schools in Azerbaijan has been brought to 99.8-100 percent, progress has been made in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, child and maternal mortality rates have significantly decreased, the fight against infectious and other diseases has been strengthened and progress in ensuring global partnership for protection of the environment has been achieved,” she said.
“Important work was done under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev to create appropriate conditions for citizens, in particular, for women and children, as well as for ensuring gender equality in employment, health care, education and social policy.”