Jalilabad, August 11, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of the Alar-Tezekend-Uchtepe-Aligasimli-Jafarkhanli highway as part of his visit to Jalilabad.

The head of state first met the district's general public.

Greeting the meeting participants, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- I am very glad to see you. I am also pleased to come to Jalilabad District again. As you know, I have repeatedly visited Jalilabad District as President. This is my seventh visit and on all earlier visits I attended some remarkable events.

A lot of work has been carried out in the economic and social spheres in Jalilabad and some beautiful facilities have been built in recent years. I remember opening the Central District Hospital during my last visit. Prior to that I attended the opening of a medical diagnostic center, an Olympic center, a youth house, a chess school, roads and other facilities.

Parks and alleys are being established in Jalilabad. The district is developing rapidly and successfully, both social and economic issues are being addressed. A number of infrastructure projects are being implemented for people’s comfort and economic development. These projects are very important. Since the majority of the population of Jalilabad District lives in settlements and villages, the reconstruction of roads, including rural roads, is of particular importance. Therefore, of course, the construction of rural roads is perhaps the most important issue, and the road opening today is the fourth rural road project completed in Jalilabad District. To date, we have carried out three projects. Rural roads have already been laid to almost 60 settlements. Work has been done at a high level. These settlements are home to about 100,000 people.

The opening of the rural road Alar-Jafarkhanli is another project of this nature. Of course, the construction of rural roads will be continued in the future, because there is still a need for that and Jalilabad is a large district. There are many settlements and a large population. Therefore, Jalilabad will always receive attention at the highest level.

We have also celebrated the opening of a large farm today. It is a great event. There are already 20 large farms in Azerbaijan, and the yields of these farms are at least twice as high as total yield in the country. Around 50-60 quintals are harvested from each hectare. This is a new approach and our policy. Several years ago, I issued the instruction to set up large farms, and 19 of them have already been created. Another one has opened today. We are also creating jobs and a new agricultural system.

This year has been declared a Year of Agriculture in Azerbaijan, and I am glad that there has been a large harvest. This year agriculture has increased by more than 7 per cent. For each country food security is one of the most important issues. We are addressing this issue in Azerbaijan. We want to make sure that Azerbaijan provides its own demand for food by 100 per cent. There are opportunities to achieve this - land, equipment and the funds allocated by the state. Subsidies, fertilizer and fuel are provided. At the same time, equipment is provided through "AgroLeasing". So the state fulfills all of its obligations. Let farmers efficiently use these opportunities and develop agriculture.

I am fully confident that we can provide food security by 100 per cent. I believe that we need just a few years to achieve this goal. After all, our judicious policies, the investments made in the regions and the recent reforms will fully provide food security. I believe that such an approach should be applied to other areas. We have to produce what we can produce ourselves.

Construction materials, food products and the development of industry should, of course, always be in the spotlight. I want to say again that additional measures will be taken to develop Jalilabad District. A lot has been done, but much remains to be done. Currently, a drinking water and sewage project is under way, and we will try to fully provide Jalilabad city with clean drinking water and a sewage network by the end of next year. There is still a need for the construction of schools. In recent years we have built and renovated 30 schools, but unfortunately there are still unrepaired schools. We know that and will resolve this issue.

Gasification projects in Jalilabad should be carried out even faster. So far, neither myself nor you can be pleased with that. According to my information, gasification in Jalilabad is at the level of 40 per cent. This is a very low level, and the State Oil Company, "Azerigaz", which is its subsidiary, will be instructed to accelerate the process of gasification here. We are committed to bringing the level of gasification in the country to 95 per cent, and we will do that. We are creating a networks and gas production in Azerbaijan increases. We export gas abroad, but we must first provide it to the population of Azerbaijan. Therefore, the rate of 40 per cent in Jalilabad is very low, and I am sure that my words will accelerate work in this area. In other words, we are fulfilling all projects necessary for the people - drinking water, gasification, electricity, rural roads, jobs, social facilities, healthcare, education. Of course, in order to achieve all this, our economy must grow more rapidly.

Our economy grew by about 6 per cent in the first half of this year. At the global level it is perhaps the highest indicator. The non-oil sector has increased by more than 9 per cent. This is also the highest indicator. Although a part of our economy is related to oil and gas and prices have dropped sharply and keep on declining, we have not reduced any social projects. On the contrary, we are implementing projects of the socioeconomic infrastructure. The current project is a graphic evidence of that. These projects are being implemented across the country. The construction of rural roads has become widespread in the country, because there is a great need for them. This is a social issue, it is primarily intended for people’s comfort. It is also an economic issue because the availability of rural roads will lead to the creation of jobs and new enterprises. At the same time, we will resolve many other issues. Earlier, for example, each village or several settlements had to have a medical station because a trip to the center was not too comfortable. Now a distance of 20-22 km can be covered on a comfortable road in just a few minutes. Both here and in Jalilabad, there is a medical diagnostic center and a central district hospital. Therefore, rural roads are very important for the economic sphere because they help us address social and economic issues. But let me say again that, first and foremost, this is being done for people’s comfort.

There are six villages are located along this road and more than 20,000 people will be using this road. We are going down this path and this is a path of development. Our achievements show that Azerbaijan is developing rapidly and steadily and our future will be even better.

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Jalilabad residents Bakhish Mustafayev, Lyubov Danilova, and Boyukkhan Bagirli thanked the head of state for his attention and care to the development of the district.

Then photographs were taken.

President Ilham Aliyev cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the highway, whose construction started in 2014.

The highway will ensure safety and comfort of the residents of the villages, and will contribute considerably to the development of these villages.

It was noted that under President Ilham Aliyev's order signed in 2013, AZN 2mln was initially allocated from the President's Contingency Fund for the construction of the highway. Last year the head of state signed an order allocating AZN 7mln from the state budget for the construction.

The highway, which is 21 km in length and 8 meters in width, links 6 residential areas with the total population of more than 23,000 people.