Kars, March 17 AZERTAC

An opening ceremony of Anadolu technical-vocational lyceum after Heydar Aliyev has been held in Kars.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili attended the opening ceremony.

The national anthems of Turkey and Azerbaijan were played first.

Then Turkish national education minister Nebi Avcı addressed the ceremony.

President Ilham Aliyev and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan made speeches.

Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Mr. President of Turkey, my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan,

Dear Mr. President of Georgia, my dear brother Giorgi Margvelashvili,

Dear brothers and sisters!

First of all, I am very pleased to be visiting fraternal Turkey again and want to express this. In particular, I am very pleased to be visiting the ancient Turkic land of Kars. Kars is a historic place of the ancient Turkic world, and the opening of the school in Kars makes a lot of sense.

This school is named after my father, the founding father of the Azerbaijani state – Heydar Aliyev. After landing at Kars airport today, the first thing I did was to visit a park named after Heydar Aliyev Park and a statue of him. I want to express my deep gratitude for the respect for the memory of national leader of the Azerbaijani people Heydar Aliyev in Turkey, in Kars.

Heydar Aliyev has made an enormous contribution to the development of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. He always sought to make Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood even stronger. His famous statement is an example for all of us. He said that Turkey and Azerbaijan are one nation in two states. We are committed to this policy, and, together with my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have made great efforts in the last 11 years to strengthen the Turkish-Azerbaijani unity.

Our position overlaps on all matters. We have been able to raise our political relations to the highest level. We always support each other in all international organizations. The growing strength of Turkey strengthens us too. Today, Turkey is the center of power on a global scale, and it has come a long way under the leadership of my dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan in recent years. This is confirmed by the work being done in Kars today. The buildings, schools, hospitals and social facilities built here have changed the face of Kars. The development in every part of Turkey is obvious. Today Turkey has become a great powerhouse in the world and has invited the brotherly country Azerbaijan to the G20 meeting. For this, I want to once again express my gratitude to my dear brother, the President of Turkey. This is a truly brotherly approach. We need to strengthen this brotherhood everywhere.

At the same time, we are laying the foundation of the TANAP project in Kars today. TANAP is our joint project. The TANAP project was signed three years ago in Istanbul. Today we are already laying the foundation of this project. The unity of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia in the energy sector already represents an entirely new panorama. The joint energy projects we are implementing reinforce us, create new opportunities and new jobs for our peoples, and multiply our economic and political power. Azerbaijan has started to invest in Turkey. SOCAR, the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has begun to invest $20 billion in Turkey. Thanks to these investments, all our major energy projects will be implemented. At the same time, SOCAR has started investing in the education sector in Turkey. Five lyceums and schools have been built in Kars, Ankara, Kocaeli, Ceyhan and Aliaga. This is investment in the educational sector. In other words, it is investment in our future. The successful development of each country is determined by the level of education and science. We should try to further develop these spheres in Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Our young people need to be educated and knowledgeable. Knowledge and literacy decide everything in the world. Knowledge and literacy pave the way for technological progress and development. The higher the level of education, the stronger the country will be in the future. Therefore, we are very pleased with the level of attention being paid to this area in Turkey.

The field of education is a priority in Azerbaijan. Over the past 11 years we have built and repaired around 3,000 schools in Azerbaijan. Excellent opportunities have been created for our youth.

Young people will be receiving profession at this lyceum. Its graduates will protect the interests of Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is already a center of Turkish-Azerbaijani friendship and brotherhood. The opening of such a lyceum sincerely pleases all of us of course. Young people should be educated, literate and, at the same time, patriotic and attached to their homeland. They should know history well, know and promote historical truth.

Unfortunately, a smear campaign is being conducted against Turkey and Azerbaijan today. Some foreign circles continuously lead a campaign against us in order to denigrate our past, slander us and deny our current successful development. We respond to that with our work. It is very difficult to find other countries in the world that would develop like Turkey and Azerbaijan. Despite all the crises, we are still developing. Our development is based on the political will and historical truth. We build our future on historical truth and present history to the young generation as it is. We do not distort history like certain other countries and do not build our future on lies and slander. Unfortunately, the occupying Armenian state, which makes unfounded claims against Azerbaijan and Turkey today, is built on a lie. Their history is false and their claims put forward against us are totally unfounded. There is history, there is truth and there are historical documents. These documents are in the public domain. We are on the right track, our cause is fair. Today, Turkish-Azerbaijani unity is already an undeniable factor on a global scale. Turkey is an important country in the world community. The possibilities of Azerbaijan are also growing. We are strengthening our unity by realizing energy and transport projects. It is no coincidence that it is in Kars that the foundation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was laid. The foundation of the TANAP project will also be laid in Kars.

The President of the brotherly state of Georgia is also here with us. I am very grateful to him for being with us today. He has come to Kars to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of the TANAP project. But at the same time, he is also attending the opening of the lyceum named after Heydar Aliyev. Our trilateral cooperation, brotherhood and unity are eternal. Three countries Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey will continue to be together, will build their future together and will always encourage and support each other.

My dear brothers and sisters, I am very pleased to be visiting Kars. I see that Kars is a renewing and developing city, for which I am grateful to you, the government and the President of Turkey. Kars is a dear region and a native city for the entire Turkic world. I am confident that the work being done in Kars, in particular the TANAP project, will open new opportunities for Kars.

Long live Turkish-Azerbaijani unity and brotherhood!

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Following the speeches President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili cut the ribbon symbolizing the official inauguration of the lyceum.

The presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the guest book.

The heads of state reviewed the lyceum.

There are busts of leaders of the Turkish world Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Heydar Aliyev in the foyer. There are also information boards and photo stands reflecting the life and activity of great leaders Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Heydar Aliyev. The Azerbaijani and Turkish language text of the Decree “On Founding the Day of Azerbaijani Alphabet and Azerbaijani Language”, which was signed by national leader Heydar Aliyev on August 9, 2001, is on display here.

It was said that the groundbreaking of the lyceum took place in May of 2011 with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The construction of the lyceum, which occupies an area of 2.2 hectares, was financed by the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan. All conditions have been created at the complex which is the largest and most prestigious lyceum in the Eastern Anatolia Region. The lyceum consists of 32 classrooms, a 200-bed dormitory, a 200-man indoor gym, an outdoor spots area, a library and two workshops. There are more than 400 students at the lyceum served by 24 teachers.

The presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia planted a tree in the yard of the lyceum.