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Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO]

14 April 2022 11:15 (UTC+04:00)
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO]

As Azerbaijan marks the fourth anniversary of the re-election of its current leader Ilham Aliyev, local and global attention falls upon the fundamental changes the four years have caused in the international and regional arena.

Pointing out the major events and accomplishments of the state in the last four years, Azertag Chairman of Board Aslan Aslanov wrote that the 44-day Patriotic War and liberation of Karabakh from the occupation are a definite highlights of this period.

The journalist has shared his view on President Ilham Aliyev’s policy and diplomatic moves that have switched Azerbaijan’s position in the region in an Azertag article.

Talking about Azerbaijan’s grand victory in the Second Karabakh war of 2020, Aslanov noted that there hasn’t been a similar triumph in our centuries-old history.

He stated that this victory alone is enough to write the name of the victorious Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev in history in golden letters.

“The great victory created new realities and all the players in the region and the entire world needed to accept them. If we have a look at the steps taken after the victory, we can see that our President has subtly coped with this task, which is not easier than the fight on the battlefield,” the article noted.

Talking about the current global situation, Aslanov wrote that the two urgent topics on the political agenda of Azerbaijan and the world are the transformation of the peace process in the South Caucasus region to the Brussels format and the Southern Gas Corridor, which has changed the energy map of Europe.

Brussels format: Azerbaijan’s post-war stance

Bringing up the facts of the fall of the 27-year-long activity of the OSCE Minsk Group with zero productivity, the journalist noted that the center of weight of the settlement in the post-war era was moved to the European Union.

After the conflict was over, the Azerbaijani president addressed the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group with “I haven’t called you…”, which was a diplomatic gesture after which the organization couldn’t be seen on the stage and was thrown into the archive of history, the journalist wrote.

Aslanov stated that now a new player in the South Caucasus – the European Union started to be seen following Azerbaijan’s win on the battlefield.

EU Council President Charles Michel made visits to Baku and Yerevan. At the end of last year, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia were invited to Brussels and the first trilateral meeting took place with the participation of Charles Michel. Finally, another trilateral meeting was held in Brussels several days ago – on 6 April.

“This meeting, which is characterized as another success of Azerbaijan’s diplomacy, is a visual confirmation that President Ilham Aliyev is a leader capable of changing the flow of events. The initiatives of peace are coming from Azerbaijan,” the article stated.

Aslanov noted that analysts believe that Azerbaijan has achieved what it wanted in Brussels.

He stressed that Azerbaijan is a party that dictates the agenda of the region and President Ilham Aliyev’s stand based on international law is treated with respect in most international organizations, including one of the centers of power in the world, the EU.

“The term Nagorno-Karabakh has already been removed from the political lexicon and no one mentions its status. Azerbaijan has demonstrated a decisive position in both issues and closed them,” he pointed out.

The chairman stressed that it was explicitly clear that the Armenian side – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan – was in the background at the meeting in Brussels.

“Support for Armenia decreases in all terms, as Azerbaijan’s position gets stronger. It leaves Armenia nothing but agreeing to a peace treaty with Azerbaijan,” he highlighted.

Southern Gas Corridor: Immense project changing Europe’s energy map

The Southern Gas Corridor, which was realized on President Ilham Aliyev’s initiative and with the close involvement of Azerbaijan, has gone down in history as one of the biggest projects of the 21st century and has significantly changed the energy map of Europe, said the chairman.

He also added that transportation of Azerbaijan’s gas through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Europe started on the last day of 2020, 31 December.

The construction of the TAP was carried out in a difficult and complex geopolitical condition, it became possible via mobilizing several countries and leading financial institutions literally into one team with the strenuous efforts of the president.

“The Southern Caucasus Corridor can also be regarded as a vivid example of political farsightedness,” the article mentioned.

Speaking about the current global situation and its effect on the global economy, he specifically stressed that the unprecedented sanctions of the West against Russia have created serious concerns in the EU countries, which are significantly dependent on Russian oil and gas.

Based on that, they are looking for alternative sources of gas supply and thinking about possible options for diversification. As President Aliyev said, “now they in Europe see the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor more clearly than we do”.

Aslanov noted that facing a severe energy crisis, the EU looks at Baku with hope, although the volume of gas exports from Azerbaijan to Europe is not so big now. However, he emphasized that there are big prospects – opportunities of transportation of gas from Central Asia over Azerbaijan.

He brings up the meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor, which was held in Baku about two months ago, which demonstrates this exact approach.

During his speech at the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev provided information on the gas reserves in Azerbaijan to the visiting ministers and high-ranking EU officials: “Shahdaniz – 1 trillion cubic meters, Babak – 400 billion cubic meters and Umid – 200 billion cubic meters”.

Azerbaijan’s attractiveness as a reliable partner grows every year amid the challenges and global economic risks of our times, which are becoming even harsher, the board chairman said.

“These are the already visible results of the flexible and pragmatic policy, which President Ilham Aliyev has been pursuing for many years. The West, which once made us suffer from its dual standards, and Europe, which failed to distinguish between the occupying force and the occupied side, are finally turning their faces towards justice and the right side and are starting to see who is who,” Aslanov further stated.

Power of information: transition to new stage in media-society relations

Further, the article goes into detail about the powerful impact of information, which was especially palpable during the Patriotic War.

“The gates of Azerbaijan were opened wide to the world media at the will of President Ilham Aliyev: about 30 interviews to foreign media in 44 days! It is a phenomenal and rare event in world history,” the article stressed.

Aslanov noted that the result is vivid to the eye: the world started to gradually understand where and on which side the truth and justice lie.

According to him, a renewed spirit has been reigning in the information environment in Azerbaijan in the post-war era.

The article showcased that effective and consecutive steps taken to determine the place and role of the media in our renewed society and modernize the national media have been recently taken.

“President Ilham Aliyev's decree dated January 12, 2021, 'On deepening media reforms in the Republic of Azerbaijan' is an important document directed at these goals. Thus, the process of fundamental reforms started to modernize the Azerbaijani media in line with the principles of activities defined by the global information environment, to extensively use opportunities of innovation including wide use of advanced technologies, tracing of leading trends and other issues, and stimulate activities that serve to objectively and professionally inform the society,” the article added.

Aslanov stressed that this cleared the way for Azerbaijan to form media in accordance with international standards, thus, local media started integrating into the global information space more rapidly by applying new trends in the field of information.

The establishment of the Media Development Agency public legal entity and the adoption of the Law “On media” can be evaluated as a milestone in the history of the national media in this context, he added.

“Thanks to the adoption of this law, we are making a transition to a period, which is characteristic of regulation of society-media and government-media relations in more civilized manners in line with the requirements of the modern times,” Aslanov said further.

To recap, Aslanov further emphasized the wise and pragmatic policy of President Ilham Aliyev, who managed to put an end to the 30-year-long occupation in a military-political way, maximally protects his country and people from the impact of global crisis and risks, and has the floor in the region and the world, always takes Azerbaijan forward.

“The last four years of our history are especially remarkable in this regard. Ilham Aliyev is capable of directing the flow of events into an appropriate way with his timely diplomatic moves. The road to success is actually ensured by this policy, which is calculated for the future, and it gives us ground to look into the future of our country more optimistically,” he finalized.

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Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
Four years policy: Renewed realities, energy triumph [PHOTO] - Gallery Image
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