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Analysis Materials 16 April 2018 17:37 (UTC +04:00)

President Ilham Aliyev: Azerbaijani people voted for stability, security, development

President Ilham Aliyev has appealed to the nation to express his gratitude to the people of Azerbaijan for the confidence demonstrated in him.

"Azerbaijani people have again demonstrated great confidence in me and I would like to express gratitude to my native people for this confidence and this great support," said President Aliyev in his appeal.

"I always feel the support of Azerbaijani people. This support gives me strength. This support is the main condition for our development. The unity of people and government is the main factor of our development in Azerbaijan," said the head of state.

Ilham Aliyev noted that in this election, the Azerbaijani people voted for stability, security, development and progress and appraised the work done over the last 15 years.

"We have achieved all this success together with you. The unity of people and government, our expedient policy have today turned Azerbaijan into a strong country," added Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state pointed out that Azerbaijan's international reputation is improving.

"We have managed to gain a worthy place on a global scale. Today, Azerbaijan enjoys great respect, sympathy and support in the world. We are a reliable partner, we are reckoned with and we have managed to significantly strengthen our position on international arena," said Ilham Aliyev.

"We haven't made even one step back from our principled position on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Our principled position is even more strengthening. This conflict should be resolved within the territorial integrity of our country and there is no other way. Over the recent years, many influential international organizations have adopted several decisions and resolutions supporting our position, the justice. We have gained great diplomatic victories. At the same time, we have gained great victory in the battlefield. The Azerbaijani soldier, the Azerbaijani army, the Azerbaijani state have liberated a part of our occupied territories from occupants. A part of Aghdere, Fizuli and Jabrayil districts were cleared from occupants and today the Azerbaijani flag is flying on those lands. Life is returning, people are returning to the lands liberated from occupation. Presidential elections are held on those lands," said the head of state.

President Aliyev noted that time will come when Azerbaijani flag will fly on all the lands that are still under occupation today, presidential elections will be held in those lands to elect the Azerbaijani president.

"We should be even stronger. We should build even stronger economy in order to be strong. No other country has developed as much as Azerbaijan in the economic sphere over the last 15 years. Our economy has grown by 3.2 times. Today, Azerbaijan is among the most competitive countries in the world. We rank 35th in terms of competitiveness," he added.

President Aliyev said that Azerbaijani citizens, their problems, their concerns, their welfare have always been in the center of the country's policy. Salaries and pensions have increased by 7-8 times over the last 15 years and this policy will be continued further, he added.

The head of state went on to add that Azerbaijan has turned into a cosmic state over the past years.

"We bring the most advanced technologies to our country and apply them. The technological and scientific development will be one of the main priorities for our future activity as well," said the president.

He pointed out that Azerbaijan is implementing huge energy and transport projects.

"With our initiative and active participation, Eurasia's energy and transport maps are re-drawn in accordance with those projects," added the head of state.

President Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan has never been as strong as today.

"We have built a strong state. We should make Azerbaijan even stronger and I am confident that we will do that. The path we are going on is a glorious path. It is a path of victory and success. I am confident that we will always go on the path of victories. Go forward to new victories!"

Azerbaijan, Bahrain interested in further development of cooperation

The possibility of Azerbaijani citizens' obtaining visas upon arrival in Bahrain using a simplified visa regime is a clear example of the development of the bilateral relations, said Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa Undersecretary for International Affairs during the political talks between the foreign ministries of Azerbaijan and Bahrain on April 10.

During the meeting, the sides expressed satisfaction with the current cooperation between the two countries, and exchanged views on the cooperation prospects.

Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov, welcoming the delegation of Bahrain, spoke about the successes achieved in many areas, the economic reforms implemented in the country in recent years, as well as the work done to develop the oil and gas sector, regional and global projects.

Noting that Azerbaijan attaches special importance to the development of relations with the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Khalafov stressed that Azerbaijan is interested in further development of relations with Bahrain.

Speaking about diversification of the Azerbaijani economy, Khalafov noted that there are great opportunities for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bahrain in the trade and economic sphere, investment, agriculture, oil and gas, industrial, tourism, banking, information technologies and others.

During the meeting, Khalafov informed the guest about large-scale transport and energy projects implemented upon the initiative and with the participation of Azerbaijan, further adding that the North-South and East-West transport routes will create favorable opportunities for the companies of Bahrain.

Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa expressed deep gratitude for the detailed information and noted that there is a great potential for expanding the bilateral trade and economic ties.

He expressed interest in developing all-round cooperation with Azerbaijan and thanked the Azerbaijani government for organizing high-level ministerial conference of the Non-Aligned Movement and hospitality.

In this regard, he said that Azerbaijan's holding of a number of large-scale events within the framework of international organizations deserves a positive assessment.

Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa noted that the existence of direct air communication and the possibility of Azerbaijani citizens' obtaining a visa at the airport of Manama using a simplified visa regime are a clear example of the development of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Bahrain on an ascending line.

He stressed that Bahrain supports the speedy settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of respect for sovereignty of Azerbaijan and its territorial integrity and that this position is stable and unchanged.

Khalafov highly appreciated Bahrain's support for Azerbaijan's fair position in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is the main obstacle to peace and stability, integration process, and development of the region as a whole.

The sides also exchanged views on cooperation within the framework of international organizations, creation of a joint intergovernmental commission for the development of trade and economic relations and on other issues of mutual interest.

Germany ready to further support diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy

Germany is ready to further support measures to diversify Azerbaijan's economy, Tobias Baumann, director executive of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce, told reporters in Baku April 10.

There is decline in trade turnover between Germany and Azerbaijan, he said.

However, Azerbaijan continues large-scale reforms related to economic diversification aimed at creating new industries, he noted.

In this process, Germany provides support to Azerbaijan by supplying high-quality equipment, in particular for the food, polymer and textile industries, he added.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Germany amounted to about $314 million for the first two months of 2018, according to Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee.

Azerbaijan, Iran ink deal on electricity sale

Azerenergy JSC, Azerbaijan's electricity producer, and Iran's state energy company Tavanir signed an agreement on the sale-purchase of electricity, the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry said in a message on April 12.

The agreement was signed within the visit of an Azerbaijani delegation led by Deputy Energy Minister Natig Abbasov to Iran, the ministry said.

During the visit, a meeting was held at the Iranian Energy Ministry, where the sides discussed electricity trade between the two countries, regulating the joint activities of energy grids of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, as well as the energy transit to other countries.

"Further an agreement was signed on sale and purchase of electricity between Azerenergy JSC and Tavanir, a company engaged in production, distribution and transmission of electricity in Iran. The deal was signed by Azerenergy JSC President Etibar Pirverdiyev and Head of Tavanir Arash Kordi. Under the agreement, Azerenergy JSC will start importing 180 MW of electricity for the regions of Mugan and Astara in June 2018," the ministry said.

The sides also agreed to hold a trilateral meeting on realization of a project to unite the energy grids of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia in Baku on April 26, and discussed the development of the Iran-Azerbaijan-Georgia energy corridor.

Azerbaijani Technopark launches production of agricultural equipment

The High Technologies Park of the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) will launch production of equipment for the agro-processing industry in the second quarter of 2018, the Technopark told Trend on April 12.

There will be produced small-size equipment for farmers.

"These is equipment for milk processing, drying of fruits, processing of meat products, mini incubators, etc. We will pay more attention to the agricultural sector. That is the use of new technologies in the agricultural sector. For example, in beekeeping, plant growing, the use of drones in agriculture," according to the Technopark.

The High Technology Park launched production of drones in early 2018. The drones can be used for photo and video surveillance of terrain, spectral analysis of terrain in agriculture, irrigation of territories, 3D terrain mapping, delivery of useful cargo (scientific research equipment), observation of animals, etc. The customer is the Agriculture Ministry of Azerbaijan.

The High Technologies Park of ANAS is located on the territory of the ANAS pilot plant in the Ahmedli settlement of Baku. The goal of the Technopark is to provide support for innovative ideas until their full implementation in the final market product and subsequent commercialization.

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