Azerbaijani leader named “President of Decade” by Turkish magazine
Turkish Ekovitrin magazine has named Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "President of Decade" in the Turkic countries, the Middle East and the South Caucasus.
A survey conducted by the magazine involved 270,992 respondents.
In its article on Azerbaijan, Ekovitrin covers the country's development, particularly its foreign policy under President Ilham Aliyev.
"President Ilham Aliyev has successfully continued the oil strategy founded by national leader Heydar Aliyev. The construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipelines was completed," it says.
The article also says: "As Head of State Ilham Aliyev outlined Azerbaijan's socio-economic development as a key priority of the government policy and implemented a range of state programs and projects in this regard."
"Azerbaijan's economy has been diversified, and the country ensured development of the non-oil sector. Azerbaijan has been included in the list of 50 developed countries of the world."
The article stresses that thanks to President Aliyev's policy the unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, while the poverty rate fell to 6.2 percent. As of 2012, the inflation rate in the country is 1 percent.
The article notes that one million new jobs have been created in Azerbaijan in the last decade.
Ekovitrin also emphasized that Azerbaijan has launched its first satellite to become a space country.
The magazine also stresses an increase in the amount of investment made in Azerbaijan.
"Over the last decade the volume of investment in Azerbaijan's economy has exceeded the 130 billion dollar mark. After purchasing Turkey's Petkim Azerbaijan invested $17.5 billion in the Star refinery project."
The article also praises Azerbaijan's role in the European energy system.
"Having become a gas exporter, Azerbaijan started to play an important role in ensuring the European energy security. The Azerbaijani-Turkish Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline project (TANAP) will export natural gas to Europe. The construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line connecting East and West will be completed soon."
On Azerbaijan's achievements on the global scene, Ekovitrin hailed the country's becoming a member of the UN Security Council in 2011. "The same year Azerbaijan joined the Non-Aligned Movement, defining new directions of its foreign policy."
The magazine praised Azerbaijan's role as a venue for discussions on intercultural dialogue, and global political and economic issues.
"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."
The article also hails the Azerbaijani President's attention to developing sports.
"President Ilham Aliyev attaches great importance to the development of sports. Azerbaijan ranked 30th in the overall medal table in the London Summer Olympics. As a follow-up to these achievements the country will host the inaugural European Games in 2015."
The magazine also praises President Aliyev`s policy to find a solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Istanbul-based economic and political magazine, Ekovitrin, 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 called President Aliyev "Politician of the Year in Eurasia".