Presentation of President of Decade award for Azerbaijani president due in Istanbul
A ceremony will be held in Istanbul on Saturday to present President of Decade award in Turkic countries, the Middle East and the South Caucasus award that was won by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a survey conducted by the Turkish Ekovitrin magazine, AzerTag state news agency reported.
The survey involved 270,992 respondents.
In its article about Azerbaijan, Ekovitrin covers the country`s
development, particularly 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."
"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 on this front," the article says.
"Azerbaijan`s economy has been diversified, and the country
ensured development of the non-oil sector. Azerbaijan was included
in the list of 50 developed countries of the world."
The article stresses that thanks to President Ilham Aliyev`s policy
"the unemployment rate decreased to 5 percent, while the poverty
rate fell to 6.2 percent." "As of 2012, the inflation rate is 1
percent in the country."
The article notes one million new jobs have been created in the
last decade.
Ekovitrin also says Azerbaijan launched its first satellite to
become a space country.
The magazine stresses an increase in the volume of investment made
in Azerbaijan. "Over the last decade the volume of investment in
Azerbaijan's economy has exceeded $130 billion. After purchasing
Turkish 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-Anatolia 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 praises Azerbaijan`s role as a venue for discussions on the intercultural dialogue, global political and economic problems.
"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 Ilham Aliyev`s policy to find a solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
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 called President Ilham Aliyev "Politician of the Year in Eurasia".