Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Honorable memory of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, the architect of moden Azerbaijan, is in the heart of every Azerbaijani and also those who fortunately met him.

With his wise policy former President Heydar Aliyev played an indispensable role in strengthening the independence and statehood of Azerbaijan, its economic development, and the country's gaining a worthy place in the international arena.

Dynamically developing Azerbaijan, which is called a "Tiger of the Caucasus", is a masterpiece of great Leader Heydar Aliyev, who led the country for over 30 years.

"Heydar Aliyev was a powerful and charismatic leader with an impressive grasp of detail, and remarkable memory with the ability to articulate a vision for the future of Azerbaijani nation, and drive towards its realization," former BP Azerbaijan president David Woodward said while speaking about the role of Heydar Aliyev in the creation of Azerbaijan's long-term development strategy.

Woodward told Trend news agency that Heydar Aliyev was instrumental in identifying that the nation's oil and gas resources and potential could be key in securing the independence and successful economic development of Azerbaijan following the country's succession from the Soviet Union.

According to Woodward, Heydar Aliyev did this by allowing broad international participation in the energy sector while maintaining good terms with the country's regional neighbors.

A production sharing agreement (PSA) on Azerbaijani Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore fields block, which is rightly called the Contract of the Century, became one of the first such agreements in the Former Soviet Union, provided a framework within which international oil companies such as BP would have the confidence to make the major investments.

The contract went down into the world history as one of the major agreements in oil sector.

These investments, according to Woodward, were necessary to develop the oil and gas resources in an environment, which at the time was viewed as posing considerable risks.

"Heydar Aliyev maintained close contact with the subsequent development projects and provided his personal support and that of the government and SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) without which the ACG, BTC and Shah Deniz projects could not have been successfully completed," Woodward said.

Woodward believes that the major revenues arising from the ACG and Shah Deniz developments have contributed hugely to the economy of Azerbaijan in the form of state spending on infrastructure, schooling, healthcare and so on.

"The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), has accumulated significant capital which will help secure the long-term wealth of the country, and I am sure that the private sector of the economy will have grown substantially during this period as well," he added.

Woodward noted that the impact of these projects has extended beyond Azerbaijan: the BTC operations and transit fees have benefited Georgia and Turkey, and so did the supply of Shah Deniz gas through the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCP).

Undoubtedly, the energy projects will have contributed to yet closer political and economic ties between these countries, he said.

Sharing the memories about Heydar Aliyev, Nabil Al-Khowaiter, one of the participants who signed the "Contract of the century" from the Arabian company Delta-Nimir (DNKL), also noted that being a powerful political leader, Heydar Aliyev was a great man and patriot.

Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev was an incredibly intelligent man and clever leader who created the modern Azerbaijan, Al-Khowaiter said.

"I remember those days, it was a time of great uncertainty. There was no certainty that any contract with Azerbaijani government would be signed," said Al-Khowaiter, currently a Senior Business Development Consultant at Saudi Aramco, one of the world's largest oil and gas companies.

According to Al-Khowaiter, such situation was fraught with risks.

"But when Heydar Aliyev - very intelligent man - came to power, the first thing he did, as I remember, he made peace with two neighbors - Iran and Russia," Al-Khowaiter recalled.

Al-Khowaiter believes if not for Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan might have been divided and if it happened the country wouldn't have been so rich today.

"Azerbaijan has become a lot richer than before. The country became economically attractive, and important in world politics. I believe there has been a great amount of work done," he said.

In turn, Caspian Group Holdings CEO Rob Sobhani said that Heydar Aliyev made Azerbaijan an important country in the eyes of the West, who began to see Azerbaijan as indispensable to Western security interests.

By establishing an independent foreign policy, National leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev was able to elevate the country's status as an important global player.

"By allowing major powers to participate in Azerbaijan's oil exploration and development, Heydar Aliyev created mutually beneficial relations with European countries, Russia, Turkey and the U.S.," said Sobhani, who in the early 90's, played an important role in the process of negotiations on oil projects in Azerbaijan, involving the US companies.

Azerbaijan's rise in international affairs and its role as a major actor owes much to the policies of Heydar Aliyev, Sobhani added.

Sobhani went on to say that U.S.-Azerbaijan relations emerged to a new level under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev.

"His meetings with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush cemented relations with the U.S. His numerous meetings with Jacques Chirac, Tony Blair, Vladimir Putin and Suleyman Demirel elevated the status of Azerbaijan within Europe," Sobhani stressed.

Recalling the personal character of the National Leader of Azerbaijan, Sobhani said that Heydar Aliyev was a leader of consequence.

According to Sobhani, even though he was a very knowledgeable man, Heydar Aliyev was always learning and asking questions.

Sharing his memories, Sobhani stressed that Heydar Aliyev attached special attention to the improvement of the health care level in the country.

In particular, upon the instructions of Heydar Aliyev, Sobhani could involve the oil companies operating in Azerbaijan, in covering the costs for immunizing most children under age 5 in the country.

"This was a man who loved his people," Sobhani stressed.

Sharing his memories at the event to commemorate the 90^th anniversary of Azerbaijan`s national leader, ISESCO Director General Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri said the remarkable progress the Republic of Azerbaijan has achieved and the peace its people are enjoying are the results of President Heydar Aliyev's efforts.

Altwaijri said that as history shows President Heydar Aliyev was at the vanguard of freedom heroes who brought independence to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

"Indeed, he was a hero and a national leader who could achieve national objectives and rescue his country from the shackles of subordination and dependency," Dr Altwaijri said.