Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Ilham Aliyev, who won the October 9 presidential elections with an overwhelming majority of votes, has received congratulations from a number of world leaders.

Romanian President Traian Basescu sent a congratulatory letter to the Azerbaijani president over his decisive victory in the elections. In his letter the Romanian president said that Ilham Aliyev's victory confirmed the trust of voters.

Basescu expressed confidence that the good cooperation relations between Azerbaijan and Romania will continue to steadily serve the general interest and benefits of the peoples in many areas.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Durao Barroso also congratulated President Aliyev in connection with his overwhelming election victory.

Barroso voiced his hope and expectations that Ilham Aliyev's new term in office will be a period of continued success for Azerbaijani people.

He said that the European Commission attaches great importance to further deepening the European Union's relations with Azerbaijan, on political, economic and energy fields, based on respect for internationally shared principles and values, including democracy and rule of Law.

President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman also congratulated the Azerbaijani president.

In his letter the Czech president said the trade turnover between the two countries reached 1.38 billion euros and expressed confidence that the business opportunities for Czech companies in Azerbaijan will increase.

The Azerbaijani President was also congratulated by head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of Azerbaijan-Argentina friendship group at Argentine Chamber of Deputies Roberto Mario Mouilleron, principal of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov Victor Sadovnichiy, Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, head of the Ingushetia Republic Yunus-bek Yevkurov, Governor of Russia's Vladimir region Svetlana Orlova, Deputy Secretary General of the UN, chairman of the Geneva office Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Governor of St. Petersburg Georgiy Poltavchenko, Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina Damir Hadzic, Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Izetbegovic, Chief of Cabinet of the UN Office at Geneva David A.Chikvaidze, President Ukraine Victor Yanukovych, Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Letta, King of Jordan Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein, President of Moldova Nicolae Timofti as well as well as a number of U.S. officials.

Ilham Aliyev, the incumbent president nominated by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, won the elections with over 84 percent of the popular vote.

Political stability and high economic growth maintained in Azerbaijan during his presidency in 2003-2013 are regarded as the major reason for his decisive victory.

The country's economy has grown 3.4-fold in the last decade, while the level of poverty reduced approximately 10 times. This is the result of serious economic and social policy carried out in the country during Ilham Aliyev's presidency. This policy helped Azerbaijan considerably strengthen its economic potential in the past 10 years.

According to ratings of the leading international organizations, Azerbaijan has been developing even at a time the rest of the world faced economic and financial crisis. The country's economy was ranked among the top 40 economies of the world in terms of competitiveness.