Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The Ireli organization will continue to be successful and contribute to the implementation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's activity, a senior official said at a conference held in Baku on June 13, Trend news agency reported.

The Ireli Public Union's conference was attended by 600 representatives of numerous regions of Azerbaijan as well as Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov, deputy chairman of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party Ali Ahmedov, MP and director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Azerbaijan, Farhad Mammadov, members of the Milli Majlis (parliament) Ganira Pashayeva and Jeyhun Osmanli.

Elnur Aslanov, head of the Presidential Administration's Political Analysis and Information Provision Department, recalled that the organization was not so large in 2005 when it was established.

"Ireli founders acted with the mission of informing the Azerbaijani public and young people about the creative work in the country, as well as the realization of new ideas and social and humanitarian projects," Aslanov said.

He noted that Ireli (Forward) contributes to the promotion of innovative ideas in the national spirit. This has helped to attract some 30,000 young people to the union.

Aslanov went on to say that today, when many countries are experiencing hard times, amid a difficult period for the world economy, Azerbaijan is developing foundations of national competitiveness in perspective sectors of the non-energy sector.

"Our country is mastering new niches in the global economy, by creating new, more effective ones -- enterprises, introducing the most advanced technologies," he said. "Such an approach is one of the best anti-crisis strategies, an integral part of the ideology of Azerbaijan's modern development."

Aslanov emphasized that today the youth of Azerbaijan see the clear evidence of dynamic development.

He said further, "On one hand Azerbaijan is a member of the UN Security Council, while on the other hand, it is an active player in international organizations, and is also an important energy and transportation hub between the East and West, North and South."

According to Aslanov, Azerbaijan is no longer a country that attracts foreign loans, as it has turned into a donor state.

"If we analyze the work done during the period from 2003 to 2013, it is possible to say that the Azerbaijani state budget in 2003 constituted only 2 billion manats, while today this figure totals nearly 24 billion manats. In 2003, GDP per capita of the population in Azerbaijan made up only $896, and currently the figure stands at $7,490. At the same time, the volume of investment in Azerbaijan over the last decade has constituted $130 billion. Azerbaijan has become an initiator of very important and large-scale projects," he said.

According to Aslanov, no political or economic project can be implemented in the region without the participation of Baku. As examples he mentioned the successful implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline project, Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) as well as Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will link Asia and Europe.

Aslanov noted that today, Azerbaijan is not a country it was 20 years ago. Azerbaijan is a model of tolerance and a center of intercultural dialogue, a place where a large number of international events are held.

In this context, the activity and intellectual development of youth are particularly important.

Aslanov said further that certainly, along with successes, there are certain difficulties.

"The biggest problem is the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The President of Azerbaijan has repeatedly voiced the country's position, saying that we will try to resolve the conflict peacefully. However, if that cannot be reached, the Azerbaijani youth will become actively involved in the liberation of the occupied territories by the order of the Commander-in-Chief. Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral territory of Azerbaijan," Aslanov said.

According to him, today the Azerbaijani economy accounts for 80 percent of the entire economy of the South Caucasus, and as the regional leader, the country stands for peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

Aslanov also said support at the upcoming presidential election for President Ilham Aliyev, who is committed to the development and bright future of Azerbaijan, is very important.

"It means that you define the future of our country, and thus determine your own future," Aslanov underscored.

During the Ireli event a resolution supporting the candidacy of Ilham Aliyev at the October presidential elections was adopted.