Baku, December 27, AZERTAC

Organized by the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), a conference themed "National Leader Heydar Aliyev’s role in the development of Azerbaijani press" has been held in Baku.

Prior to the conference marking the 100th anniversary of the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, the event participants viewed the "Heydar Aliyev-100" photo-exhibition.

The event commenced with a minute of silence in memory of the renowned politician and statesman Heydar Aliyev and the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of the country.

Furthermore, the proceedings included a video presentation highlighting the life and accomplishments of the National Leader.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the Board of AZERTAC Vugar Aliyev highlighted the unparalleled services of National Leader Heydar Aliyev across all domains in Azerbaijan, as well as the Great Leader's contributions to the freedom of speech and media development in the country.

Highlighting the Great Leader's special care for AZERTAC, Vugar Aliyev remarked: “National Leader Heydar Aliyev’s care for the media and the country's major news services is exemplified by the State News Agency – AZERTAC. During the years of the National Leader’s leadership in the country, he signed 5 decrees and orders aimed at bolstering the Agency's capabilities and human resources, furnishing it with cutting-edge equipment, establishing correspondent bureaus abroad, as well as improving the working conditions of employees. I must emphasize that Heydar Aliyev always prioritized the State News Agency during the first period of his leadership in Azerbaijan. Thanks to Heydar Aliyev's authority and insistence during the Soviet era, AZERTAC, known as Azerinform at the time, emerged as one of the first news agencies in the Soviet Union to be equipped with computers."

Noting that the traditions established by National Leader Heydar Aliyev in the sphere of media are successfully continued today, the Chairman of the Board said: “The ideas and activity of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev illuminate the path forward, placing great responsibility on media outlets. By leveraging conditions provided for the media in the country, we are entrusted with raising the global awareness about the Azerbaijani realities, the ongoing large-scale restoration projects in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur regions as well as fostering constructive cooperation and beneficial partnership on regional and global scales. Furthermore, we bear responsibility of shaping the positive image of Azerbaijan.”

Other speakers at the event included Executive Director of the Media Development Agency of Azerbaijan Ahmad Ismayilov, as well as MP Sevinj Fataliyeva, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Press Council Rashad Majid. They also praised Great Leader Heydar Aliyev’s care and attention for the media in the country, describing the freedom of thought, speech and information in Azerbaijan as important components of President Ilham Aliyev's political course and democratic achievements.

The production director of the "Heydar Aliyev is Azerbaijan!" documentary Fariz Ahmadov spoke about the shooting of the film, which lasted for about 7 months.

The conference then featured the screening of a 10-minute fragment of the documentary made by AZERTAC.