European energy security unimaginable without Azerbaijan, Turkey: official
Istanbul hosted a ceremony on July 13 to present the award of "President of Decade" in Turkic countries, the Middle East and the South Caucasus, which was won by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a survey conducted by the Turkish Ekovitrin magazine, Azerbaijan's AzerTag state news agency reported.
The survey involved 270,992 respondents.
The ceremony brought together the head of socio-political affairs department at Azerbaijan`s Presidential Administration, Ali Hasanov, Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim, as well as other officials, businessmen, intellectuals, etc.
The event began with the presentation of a documentary covering the activity of Ekovitrin Media Group.
Later, President of the Media Group Kamuran Abacioglu briefed the participants on the history of Ekovitrin.
Abacioglu also spoke of the economic accomplishments made by Azerbaijan over the past 10 years, noting that all these achievements were associated with President Ilham Aliyev`s successful policy.
Speaking at the event, Ali Hasanov thanked the staff of the Ekovitrin magazine.
Hasanov highlighted the role of Azerbaijan and Turkey in Europe`s energy market, saying it increased after the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
"The past 10 years gave a lot to the world. But these years gave the most valuable thing to Azerbaijan and Turkey - increase of power," he said. "Azerbaijan, transporting energy resources to the world market, met its needs in economic, political, social and other areas and became an important actor in the region. Turkey in turn became an important energy center delivering Caspian oil to the world."
Hasanov said it is impossible to imagine Europe`s energy security without Turkey, Azerbaijan and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
Hasanov said that thanks to Azerbaijan, the Caspian basin and the South Caucasus region became one of the economic and political powerhouses of the world.
He went on to say that one of the accomplishments of Azerbaijan in the past 10 years was its securing a seat on the UN Security Council, noting that Azerbaijan is a second Turkic state to become a member of the UNSC.
Hasanov said President Aliyev deserves the "President of Decade" award which completely reflects the reality.
Addressing the ceremony, Turkish Minister Yildirim highlighted the achievements made in his country over the past 10 years.
Yildirim said energy projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Shahdeniz and TANAP strengthened not only the relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also the East and West.
The minister also praised Azerbaijan's investments in Turkey`s oil and chemical industry.
Yildirim underscored the role of President Aliyev in Azerbaijan's development, saying the head of state deserves the "President of Decade" award. "We thank President Ilham Aliyev on behalf of the Turkish nation."
Then Minister Yildirim presented the "President of Decade" award to Ali Hasanov.
A documentary was demonstrated at the ceremony featuring President Aliyev`s activity, particularly his successful foreign policy.
The documentary said President Aliyev had successfully continued the oil strategy founded by national leader Heydar Aliyev. Notably, the construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines was completed.
President Aliyev has outlined Azerbaijan`s socio-economic development as a key priority of the government's policy and implemented a wide range of relevant state programs and projects.
Azerbaijan`s economy has been diversified, and the country ensured development of the non-oil sector. Azerbaijan has filled the ranks of 50 developed countries of the world. The unemployment rate has dropped to 5%, while the poverty rate has fallen to 6.2%.
As of 2012, the inflation rate in the country is 1%. One million jobs have been created in the last decade. Also, Azerbaijan launched its first satellite to become a space country. Over the last decade the volume of investment in Azerbaijan's economy has exceeded $130 billion.
After purchasing Petkim, Turkey's leading petrochemical company, Azerbaijan invested $17.5 billion in the Star refinery project. Having become a gas exporter, Azerbaijan started to play an important role in ensuring the European energy security. The Azerbaijani-Turkish Trans-Anatolia gas pipeline project (TANAP) will export natural gas to Europe. The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line connecting the East and West will be completed soon.
Azerbaijan`s role as a venue for discussions on intercultural dialogue, global political and economic issues was praised in the documentary.
Azerbaijan's capital Baku hosts the World Economic Forum, the Krans Montana Forum, the South Caucasus Forum, the Eurovision song contest, the International Humanitarian Forum, the Intercultural Dialogue Forum and the World Summit of Religious Leaders.
President Aliyev attaches great importance to the development of sports. Azerbaijan ranked 30th in the overall medal table at the London Summer Olympics. As a follow-up to these achievements the country will host the inaugural European Games in 2015.
According to the survey of Ekovitrin, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won "The most successful statesman of 10 years in Turkey" award, while Binali Yildirim won "The minister of 10 years" award. The Azerbaijan state oil company, SOCAR, won the "Foreign investment making" award.
The Istanbul-based Ekovitrin economic and political magazine, published since 2000, nominates the "Man of the Year" in the fields of economy, business, industry, export, finance, investment, politics and local governance. In 2005, it named President Aliyev "Politician of the Year in Eurasia".