2014 promises great success for Azerbaijan: official
By Jamila Babayeva
State Fund for the Support of Mass Media Development under the Azerbaijani President held an event for providing documents and keys to journalists who received apartments on December 24.
Journalists received new apartments in a building built by the order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
In an effort to improve the housing conditions of journalists, a 5-million-manats fund was allocated from the Reserve Fund of the President of Azerbaijan to the State Fund for the construction of a residential building.
The funds were used for the construction of a 17-storey 156-apartment building for journalists, where all apartments have been refurbished to a high standard. A total of 22 million manats were spent on the construction of the building and landscaping the adjacent area.
Head of the public and political issues department of presidential administration of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov, Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov, head of the State Fund for the Support of Mass Media Development Vugar Safarli, MPs, and representatives of intelligentsia and mass media attended the event.
Safarli congratulated journalists on receiving their apartments and said the new apartments are fully renovated and have all necessary conditions.
He said all the documents related to the utilities were registered for the apartment owners. "President Ilham Aliyev laid the foundation for a second building near the building for journalists. The building will be built within two years and commissioned on July 22, 2015 - on the Day of National Press," Safarli noted.
He highly appreciated the president's care and attention to journalists, and journalists received their documents and keys afterwards.
Hasanov said Azerbaijan pursues a successful social policy, the foundation of which was laid by the national leader Heydar Aliyev.
"An integral part of this policy is to improve the social situation of media workers who direct and inform the Azerbaijani society and protect national and spiritual values".
He believes that 2014 will be a successful year for the country and the society.
"2013 was successful for the Azerbaijani media, the country, for society. This year Azerbaijan's development continued. With signing the "Shah Deniz - 2" agreement, Azerbaijan contributed to creating the necessary conditions for changing the world's energy and gas map," he said.
Hasanov said one of the most significant events of 2013 was the presidential elections. "Ilham Aliyev put forward a campaign platform for the country's further development, and was re-elected unanimously by the Azerbaijani people for a third term."
He also said Azerbaijan is really seeing off a successful year. "We are preparing to celebrate the New Year, which promises us great success. We are waiting for important events and development in 2014," Hasanov concluded.