“Azerbaijan is also known as a country where the first oil in the world was produced in the middle of the 19th century. And at that time, we were producing more than half of the world's oil production and also maybe not many people know that the first offshore oil was also produced in Azerbaijan in the Caspian by Azerbaijani oil workers in the middle of 20th century,” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the opening ceremony of the 74th International Astronautical Congress.
“When we are independent, our natural resources serve the benefit of our people. The rapid transformation during the years of independence is actually a demonstration of the proper use of our natural wealth,” the head of state pointed out.