Ilham Aliyev, who has successfully led Azerbaijan for more than twenty years, participated in the presidential elections for the fifth time and his brilliant victory was another confirmation of the national love for the historical figure who restored the people's dignity, national self-esteem and citizenship. Ilham Aliyev has been the organizer of all the achievements of the Azerbaijani people for 20 years.

The historical views of the great leader have been accurately stated: "He is a highly intelligent, practical-minded, energetic and enterprising personality. I assure you that Ilham Aliyev and the New Azerbaijan Party will continue to unite the most worthy children of our people around them and do a lot in the way of the development of the state of Azerbaijan and the prosperity of our people. I believe that with your help and support, Ilham Aliyev will be able to finish the fateful issues, plans and works that I could not bring to the end. I believe in him as much as myself and have high hopes for his future..."

Today, each of us is a witness that the great confidence of our National leader has been amazingly justified...

Development implies natural, economic, social, political, cultural, spiritual evolution and qualitative change. No one can deny the stages of development of the Azerbaijani people in their historical path spanning hundreds of years. The point is that the conclusions reached by the joint authorship of the Azerbaijani people and Ilham Aliyev during twenty years are not enough to be considered as indicators of development.

Because he is the author of the modern Azerbaijani renaissance along with the rather spectacular national development. Such authorship may be possible under strict conditions. In my opinion, the first condition is that Ilham Aliyev, in the first days of his leadership, turned to the path of the great leader, to national loyalty, and such a choice provides the modern, national and ideological foundations of Azerbaijan's comprehensive, global successes yesterday and today.

The state independence of Azerbaijan has been fully, irreversibly and forever established. National economic development is an example at the international level. An army with the power to protect the territorial integrity and borders of the country has been created in Azerbaijan. Both the scale and quality of social-infrastructure construction, as well as the speed of the works are amazing. During the twenty years, the living conditions of the population improved, people's safety and order were ensured, and the legal state was strengthened.

On February 14, 2024, Ilham Aliyev, who was re-elected as the President, gave a wide and comprehensive speech in the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which answered all the basic questions of interest to the society and reflected the conclusions and perspectives. As always, the President's programmatic speech attracted the attention of both domestic and foreign audiences. Ilham Aliyev, who declared that he will use all his strength for the "comprehensive development of Azerbaijan and the protection of territorial integrity" in the new stage, said that all the promises he made in 2003 have been fulfilled, that the source of the achievements is the people of Azerbaijan, the trust shown by the people to their leader and their ability to unite around a single action. states: "We are a great nation, we decide our own destiny," he says.

When the honorable President announced the reason for his vote in Khankendi at the swearing-in ceremony held in the Milli Majlis, our hearts turned to the mountains. Mr. Ilham Aliyev said that although he had the opportunity to vote anywhere in Azerbaijan, he considered voting in Khankendi a more correct step. Because according to the scenarios of the destroyed 200-year-old insidious plans of world Armenians, bloody crimes against our people were started in Khankendi in the late 1980s. It was in the building where he voted in Khankendi that the genocide against our people was planned and managed from there. It was in the square in front of the building where he voted that Armenian nationalists and then the Armenian state made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. It was in that building that a special committee was placed in the Soviet era to separate Karabakh from Azerbaijan, and the main goal of that committee was to separate Karabakh from Azerbaijan. The devils who occupied our country for thirty years and turned it into ruins finally received such a blow that they will hardly recover. Because the Zafar team destroyed their 200-year dream. According to our honorable President, the ballot thrown into the ballot box in Khankendi was not just a ballot. This was the last nail in the coffin of the Armenian separatists...

When characterizing the development path of Azerbaijan in the past 20 years under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, it is necessary to highlight the measures taken in the direction of strengthening the social protection of the population and the dynamics of the social security system in our country, and the successes achieved. The implemented multifaceted reforms and large-scale measures have conditioned the achievement of great achievements in the direction of social state building.

The country's increasing financial capabilities have always served to provide citizens with better living conditions and to build a society based on inclusiveness and social justice. The quote of our respected leader, "Azerbaijani citizens and their interests are at the center of our policy", expressing the essence of the social policy implemented in our country, shows that the principle of Mr. Ilham Aliyev's activities as President is the principle of "serving the people with dignity".

Mr. Ilham Aliyev is a leader who always trusts his word. All the people of Azerbaijan know and are sure that the words and deeds of our head of state coincide. Whatever he says, he does, whatever he promises, soon everyone witnesses that this promise comes true. When starting the performance of his duties as the President, there is no area of ​​social life where purposeful measures are not implemented under the leadership of Mr. President, who stated that great things will be done in the direction of solving social problems. As a result of the successful social policy of the head of state, the annual social protection and social security expenses of the state budget increased more than 20 times in 2003-2023, which is one of the highest indicators not only in the former post-Soviet space, but also in comparison with the advanced countries of the world.

During this period, the nominal income of the population increased by 12 times, the average monthly salary by 10.8 times, and the average monthly amount of pensions by 15.6 times. In addition, the level of unemployment decreased to 5.6 percent, and the level of poverty decreased from 44.7 percent to 5.5 percent. In the mentioned period, the minimum wage, which is one of the main indicators of the living standard of the population, was increased 38 times to 345 manats, and the minimum pension was increased 14 times to 280 manats. Also, the average monthly salary increased 12 times to 940 manats, the average monthly pension increased more than 18 times to 500 manats.

In general, the most important factor that endears Mr. Ilham Aliyev both to his people and the world is his loyalty to his promise. The word of our President is as valid as his signature, and there is no word or promise that he has not fulfilled to this day.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, the respected President said that Azerbaijan will confidently advance towards greater victories, and that in the next 7 years of activity, the interests of the country's citizens, their well-being, will always be in the center of attention, and the standard of living will improve.

Mr. Ilham Aliyev's speech at the swearing-in ceremony, whose name is written on the golden page of our history as the victorious leader of the victorious nation, was also remembered with very important messages. In his speech, the head of state clarified many points, talked about the new goals facing Azerbaijan, huge economic projects, the work to be done in the direction of further strengthening of our Armed Forces, drew attention to the factors that determined our glorious Victory, and presented a road map of new priorities.

Azerbaijan is entering a new era as a strong and self-sufficient regional actor. Our state, which always pursues a completely independent policy and has the status of a reliable partner for this very reason, should continue its foreign policy course. It is this foreign policy that increases the reputation of our country day by day.

As a guarantor of Europe's energy security, Azerbaijan has completely changed the continent's energy map. All this was realized at the expense of global projects authored by Ilham Aliyev.

During his speech at the swearing-in ceremony held on February 14, President Ilham Aliyev touched upon many important points, as well as the close cooperation of the Turkic world and the issue of turning the Organization of Turkic States into a strong institution. The head of state emphasized that the Organization of Turkic States is the main international organization for us, because it is our family. For this reason, we will continue our efforts within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States: "This is a priority for us. This is the main international organization for us, because it is our family. We have no other family. Our family is the Turkic world. We have brotherly relations with all countries that are members of the Organization of Turkic States, and our policy is to strengthen the Organization of Turkic States." The head of state added that this is a large geography, a large territory, a large military power, a large economy, natural resources, transportation routes, a young population, a growing population, and peoples of the same lineage and roots: "Can there be a stronger union than this? Of course not. We must make joint efforts so that the Organization of Turkic States becomes an important actor and power center in the global arena. We can achieve this only together."

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the relations with the members of the Organization of Turkic States and the countries of Central Asia. It is no coincidence that after being elected President, Mr. Ilham Aliyev made his first foreign visit to brotherly Turkey, and as one of the first foreign guests, he invited the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kasim-Jomart Tokayev to Azerbaijan, and a very successful, high-level fraternal meeting took place.

As President Ilham Aliyev said, Azerbaijan's foreign policy will be very clear and open from now on. Because the policy pursued by our honorable President until now is approved and supported by the world community. If it were not so, 155 countries would not have elected Azerbaijan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, and 120 countries would not have elected Azerbaijan as the chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement. If it were not so, the world community would not have made a decision on holding the COP29 conference in Azerbaijan.

COP29 is one of the most prestigious international events in the world. From the point of view of the representation of countries, it does not lag behind the UN General Assembly. Although many events have been held in our country, COP29 cannot be compared with the events held until now. Because on the eve of COP29, tens of thousands of foreign representatives will come to our country, Baku will once again attract the attention of the world in two weeks. According to certain possibilities, approximately 70-80 thousand foreign guests will be in our country during this period.

On the other hand, time is not that much. Therefore, President Ilham Aliyev ordered to start all preparatory works immediately. Hosting the COP29 conference can be considered as the most important event of 2024 for Azerbaijan and a logical continuation of the country's strategy of transition to a "green economy". In accordance with this mission, 2024 was declared the "Year of Solidarity for the Green World" in Azerbaijan by the order of President Ilham Aliyev.

By another order of the President of Azerbaijan, the Organizing Committee was also established in connection with the holding of the summit. On February 22, a new order was signed to amend this document. According to the document, the composition of the Organizing Committee has been slightly expanded.

Of course, there are great expectations from Azerbaijan regarding COP29: it is necessary to mobilize various segments of the society in order to organize both the preparatory process and the event itself at a high level.

On the basis of "Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities of Socio-Economic Development" approved by the decree of President Ilham Aliyev dated February 2, 2021, the strategic foundation of renewable energy production policy has been laid in the country. One of the 5 National Priorities mentioned in the document is related to "clean environment" and "green growth". This sets new goals for the transition to the "green economy". In addition, Ilham Aliyev declared Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur a "green energy" zone, and the action plan for 2022-2026 was approved. It is planned to turn these areas into "Net zero emission" zones by 2050.

Since COP29 is a very important and one of the most important events in the world in the fight against climate change, choosing Azerbaijan as the host for this event by a unanimous decision among the countries of the Eastern European Group is an indication of high confidence in our country. This event will prove to the world how much Azerbaijan sees the "green economy" as a priority field, in addition to being an oil and gas country. This summit will give an important impetus to the further rise of Azerbaijan's reputation, and a positive impetus to the direct communication of the country's realities to the world community.

Leaders of the leading countries of Europe themselves admit that today world politicians and heads of state stand in line to take pictures with Mr. Ilham Aliyev at international events.

The invitation of President Ilham Aliyev to the Munich Security Conference on February 16-18 this year, his participation in this important meeting, and the meetings held at the request of many state leaders within the framework of the conference once again prove that the countries of the world and major economic organizations value cooperation with Azerbaijan. , they consider Mr. Ilham Aliyev to be the owner of his word, a reliable partner and an important leader.

In general, the Munich Security Conference is one of the most important platforms where world leaders, leading international organizations, heads of prestigious research and science centers, and well-known experts gather. Azerbaijan is regularly invited to this platform in the person of Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the head of state actively participates in discussions and shares his valuable views on global and regional security issues. President Ilham Aliyev held 23 important meetings in three days based on the requests of the opposite parties. The appeals of the other side about these meetings and the intensity of the meetings are indicators of the high prestige of the President of Azerbaijan, great respect and attention to his personality. The intensity of the meetings was due to the large number of people who want to cooperate with Azerbaijan.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev attaches special importance to the development of the field of education, which is in the interest of the society and the state. In the past period, great attention was paid to the development of science and education in our country. The education policy founded by our national leader and calculated for the future of the people is successfully continued today by President Ilham Aliyev.

Today, President Ilham Aliyev, who considers the transformation of oil capital into human capital a priority, says: "If Azerbaijan was not in a state of war, education expenses would be in the first place in the budget. This idea is an indication of how much importance is attached to education by Mr. President. Today, all areas of education are developing rapidly within the framework of state programs and reforms implemented in Azerbaijan.

The professionalism of teachers plays an important role in raising the level of education. Expressing his views on this, President Ilham Aliyev said: "The quality of education should increase and is increasing. This is shown by various ratings, and of course, one of the main issues here is the professionalism of teachers. Because the level of education depends on the professionalism of teachers. As teachers teach children, children acquire knowledge accordingly."

The activity of President Ilham Aliyev for the last twenty years has made important contributions to the modernization and improvement of education policy in our country. He defined the main tasks facing the education system and highlighted the issues of promoting the ideology of Azerbaijaniism, instilling a sense of love for the Azerbaijani language, literature, history, and culture, respect for national and moral values, forming loyalty to the Motherland, citizenship position, and patriotism education. These impose new duties on every responsible citizen of the country, including the educational community of our republic.

Mr. President blessed the establishment of the West Azerbaijan Community in 2022, starting a new struggle to ensure the right of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who have been subjected to genocide, deportation and threats by Armenia to return to their native land, today not only in Azerbaijan, but in various countries around the world. In his speech at the West Azerbaijan Community on December 24, 2015, he emphasized these factors: "West Azerbaijan is our historical land, it is confirmed by many historical documents, historical maps, and our history." Today, the West Azerbaijan Community, which has consistently and tirelessly fought for the realization of its ideas, is determined to implement the "Return Concept".

All this is a reflection of Mr. Ilham Aliyev's foreign policy in 20 years. Everyone wants to meet our head of state. But the President of Azerbaijan does not ask anything from anyone. As he himself said, for more than 20 years, he has not asked anything from anyone like the President. Because there was no need for it. Azerbaijan is a fully self-sufficient country. Azerbaijan is always a supporter of bilateral cooperation, and its foreign policy is based on this - equal relations, mutual respect, good relations, non-interference in each other's affairs. These are the principles of Azerbaijan, and these principles were dictated by Mr. Ilham Aliyev and managed to be accepted.

Today, a new stage begins for Azerbaijan. As the head of our state also declared, one of the most important tasks is the restoration of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur, the reconstruction of our homes, cities and regions that were completely destroyed and looted during the 30-year occupation, at the highest level, the restoration of life there, the safe and safe return of former IDPs to their lands. is to return in a dignified manner. The state of Azerbaijan is implementing huge measures in this direction. President Ilham Aliyev and the First Vice-President of our country Mehriban Aliyeva regularly visit these areas and directly supervise the work being carried out.

"Smart cities" and "smart villages", all social infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, sports facilities, catering facilities, roads, tunnels and bridges, railways are being built by applying the most modern examples of urban planning and technologies in the liberated territories. is being built, two international airports have been opened, electricity and water supply are being reconstructed. The work done here, the implementation of huge projects that seem like a dream to many, fascinates and surprises everyone who comes to the liberated lands.

Today, Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur are a huge building site and revival. Unfortunately, many people have become victims of landmines and lost their lives or health. However, the territories are saved from the underground treachery of the hated enemy; About 120,000 hectares of land have been cleared. As long as the safety of the population is ensured and living conditions are created, the permanent return to the liberated homelands accelerates.

So far, 5,400 former displaced persons have been sent to five settlements. By the end of the year, 20,000 people will be accommodated in 5 cities and 15 villages. In the first phase of the Great Return program - in 2026, the number of people returning to their ancestral homes will reach 140,000. At present, ointment is being applied to the wounds of the lands turned into ruins by Armenian vandals. There, the entire social infrastructure is fundamentally rebuilt: hospitals, schools, sports facilities, roads, more than 130 tunnels and bridges are being built. Addressing important vital problems such as the comprehensive development of the economy, reducing poverty to a minimum, foreign economic and international relations, improving people's social well-being, creating jobs, increasing incomes, social protection of martyrs' families and war disabled people, President Ilham showed perspectives and solutions. The last sentences of Aliyev's speech cannot be read without excitement: "Today we are in Agdam, Fuzuli, Lachin, Jabrayil, Zangilanda, Gubadli, Kalbajar, Shusha, Hadrut, Khojaly, Aghdara, Askaran, Khankendi. This new era begins successfully. I am sure that it will continue successfully!"

Honorable President Ilham Aliyev is a great patron of the national and moral values ​​and culture of our people. As much as he acts as an innovative, reformist, innovative leader in the implementation of programs and concepts that serve economic and social progress, in the wide application of information and communication technologies, while determining the development trends of Azerbaijan, he is quite conservative in the issues of protecting national and moral values ​​and historical traditions of our people. approaches.

He always implements people's policy and rightly believes that any problem can be solved when the concepts of "people" and "nation" are at the forefront. "National values ​​should be above all else. It was our values ​​that protected us as a people, as a nation for centuries," said Azerbaijan, under the leadership of our head of state, one of those countries that has built its development and future on national roots. In the past period, extensive measures were taken in the direction of preservation and development of our national-spiritual values, confessional and ethnic diversity, traditions of multiculturalism and tolerance.

The people of Azerbaijan are now living a new stage of their glorious history. As our Honorable President mentioned, all the people of Azerbaijan live with great hopes when entering a new era, and we must, of course, work and take such steps to fulfill these hopes. Like all our people, I am sure that these hopes and dreams will come true, and the new era will be very successful for the people of Azerbaijan. This confidence comes from our people's belief in their own strength and abilities, as well as their unlimited trust in their Leader.

I believe that all the promises of the honorable President, the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev will be reflected in life, and the tasks ahead will be successfully fulfilled in the new era, and Azerbaijan will only go on the path of development!

Misir MARDANOV,
Corresponding member of ANAS, Director of Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics