BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 17
Trend:
Continuation of reforms in Azerbaijan is producing good results, said Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev while making an opening speech at the meeting on the socio-economic results of the first quarter of 2020 through videoconference, Trend reports.
“Today we will discuss the results of the first quarter of the year and talk about the upcoming work. I can say that 2020 got off to a good start. The indicators for the beginning of the year suggest that the continuation of reforms in Azerbaijan is producing good results. In particular, our economic and social indicators in January-February were very positive. However, we experienced a certain recession in March. And this is natural because coronavirus is a big disaster for the whole world and a major problem for the global economy. If we take three months of the year as a whole, we can see that there is still development and progress. But everyone should know that the world has entered a new stage today and even the most developed countries are faced with big problems,” said President Ilham Aliyev.
The head of state noted that coronavirus is a major scourge that has put an end to the lives of more than 100,000 people.
“We can say that all countries of the world are experiencing problems associated with coronavirus. Azerbaijan is also a part of the world. However, I can say that as a result of the preventive measures and a thought-out policy, we are keeping the situation under control. I believe that all steps taken so far have been in the right direction. Thanks to these actions, the situation in Azerbaijan is under control. If these steps had not been taken in a timely manner and we had not gradually tightened the restrictive regime as part of a sound strategy, there would be not a thousand, but perhaps 10,000, 20,000 patients today,” said President Ilham Aliyev.
He noted that the experience of the most developed countries shows that no country can consider itself fully insured.
“The health system of no country can withstand the growing dynamics of these patients. Therefore, this should serve as a lesson for us. I have already said this but want to say it again that we must learn a lesson. All our steps are balanced, it is no coincidence that several countries are taking advantage of our experience and taking similar actions. We are seeing that. Therefore, our further steps should be such that we can protect the health of the people, their lives. As I noted earlier, we will take action in accordance with the situation. All of us, of course, want the quarantine regime to end soon and citizens to return to normal life. But I want to say once again that the key thing for us is the health of our citizens, the lives of our people. The hundreds and thousands of letters, emails and messages addressed to me recently testify to the fact that people highly appreciate the steps we have taken,” said President Ilham Aliyev.
The head of state noted that no-one knows when the coronavirus pandemic will end, no-one can give a forecast.
“Therefore, we must simply keep the situation in the country under full control, conduct monitoring, as we are doing that now. At the same time, by carefully monitoring the processes taking place in the world, we must be fully convinced that the coronavirus pandemic is no longer a threat. I believe that only after that can mitigating actions be taken. It's too early to say this but the figures of recent days are encouraging. I do hope that the positive dynamics, i.e. the positive dynamics associated with the number of patients, will be continued. But let me repeat that we will take steps in accordance with the situation,” said President Ilham Aliyev.