Aghdash, October 28, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended a ceremony to launch drinking water supply and sewage systems in the city of Aghdash.

The head of state then met with representatives of the district`s general public and made a speech.

Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev

- My warm greetings! I am very glad to be visiting Aghdash district again. This is my fifth visit to Aghdash district as President. During every visit, including today, we either lay the foundation or celebrate the opening of an important project. Some time ago, we celebrated the supply of drinking water to the city of Aghdash. And today we are gathered for the launch of this remarkable project. This is indeed a major event. The project of both drinking water and sewage has been fully completed. The city population is provided with clean drinking water on a round-the-clock basis. Moreover, the water quality meets the standards of the World Health Organization. Therefore, we are celebrating this wonderful event together.

I should also note that a drinking water project has also been implemented in the city of Gabala and it has been launched. Therefore, the upcoming work should take into account the growing population. Therefore, Azersu has received the instruction that this project should be calculated for approximately 20-30 years, so that the growing population could benefit from of this opportunity.

As you know, drinking water is an essential factor for the human body. The lack of drinking water is still a serious problem in a number of countries. The short life expectancy in some countries is also associated with the lack for drinking water. We are implementing these projects in all cities. First of all, we have implemented them in the city of Baku, where the world's biggest water treatment plant was built. Currently, these projects have either been implemented or are at the implementation stage in all our cities. There are only five cities left where work has not yet begun. However, Azersu has received instructions to solve the problem with drinking water in the other five cities starting from next year.

In addition, good nutrition is another important factor for human health. Attention is also being paid to this issue. The Food Safety Agency has been set up. It controls both imports and local production. The environmental situation is very important as well, and there are good results in this area too.

Sport, of course, is good for the physical health of every person. In Aghdash, there is an Olympic Center, the Central District Hospital. The hospital is fully renovated and fitted with all the necessary equipment. As you know, more than five million people undergo free medical examination in Azerbaijan every year. I believe that Azerbaijan is the world leader in terms of this initiative, because this service is fee-based in most countries. In Azerbaijan, it is free. Today, there are modern medical facilities in all our districts. Therefore, it is recommended that all citizens undergo a blood test, ultrasound and another examination. Currently, there are opportunities and conditions for that.

At the same time, the projects being implemented in Aghdash district serve the development of the district’s potential, our overall development. The Aghdash electric substation was launched today. I put it into action by pressing a button from a substation in Gabala. There shouldn’t be, there aren’t and there won’t be any problems with electricity. The drinking water project has been implemented. The rate of gas supply is at 80 percent. I was informed that there is no gas only in 19 villages. I am instructing the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan to build gas lines to these 19 villages in a short time.

Road construction. Over the past two years, more than 100 kilometers of rural roads have been built in Aghdash, we celebrated the opening of one of them today. In other words, these social infrastructure projects are being implemented. There are 28 modular water treatment plants. Today we will commission a drinking water system. Thus, conditions are being put in place for the comprehensive development of the district. New enterprises are being established, including a plant for the production and processing of liquorice. This is also a major enterprise, so that there is no unemployment here and people are provided with jobs, receive good healthcare, drink clean water and stay healthy. That is our goal. Congratulations again!

Expressing gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev on behalf of local residents, Guljannat Ismayilova said:

- Dear President Ilham Aliyev. Welcome to Aghdash! You said everything we wanted to say, so there is no need to add anything. May Allah protect you, may Allah help you. We love you very much. Why do we love you? Because we vote for someone who works. We support him. Not every country can do so much work. We have one request, please convey to our first lady, to the First Vice President greetings from the people of Aghdash, especially the Aghdash mothers. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this work being done for us and for our children – for our future. Thank you very much, we express our gratitude to you, may Allah protect you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. To serve the people is our duty. My main task as President is to solve the problems existing in the country. Therefore, I make trips to the regions. I probably visit 30-35 districts every year. There are districts which I have visited more than 10 times. At the same time, there are no districts I have visited less than four to five times. Therefore, I come here, get acquainted with the situation, want to hear from people on the ground about their problems. Therefore, the bulk of my work is associated with domestic issues, which is why Azerbaijan is developing successfully. The recently released reports reflect the successful development of Azerbaijan once again. For example, the reports of the World Bank and the Davos World Forum show that Azerbaijan ranks second in the world in terms of access to electricity. Look how many developed countries there are in the world. We are in second place among them, among all countries of the world. Currently, we are among top 10 countries in terms of people's confidence in the government. What does this indicate? It is not us who is saying this, but the most influential institutions in the world which conduct a broad analysis. And this is true. This is our strength, because the unity of the people and government paves the way for our development. This support gives us strength, so that we can say our word and defend our position.

At the same time, our international agenda is very broad. Over the past month alone, Azerbaijan has taken over chairmanship of two important organizations. In mid-October, Azerbaijan began to chair the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States. For one year, we will lead this organization. And on 25 October, we started chairmanship in the second largest organization of the world – the Non-Aligned Movement. The Non-Aligned Movement is second only to the United Nations, which does not have the chairing country. There is a chairing country in the Security Council, and that is based on rotation. So we are chairing the largest international organization where chairmanship is in place, and we have achieved this with the support of 119 countries. What does this indicate? It indicates that the world community supports us, believes in us, treats us with approval and defends our position. Two days ago, the Final Declaration reflected all issues of relevance to us, including those related to territorial integrity and Armenian occupation. It reflects all provisions relevant for us in relation to our position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This is a great achievement. I want to say quite frankly that to obtain unanimous support in this organization is tantamount to heroism, because the organization includes 120 member-countries. Some countries do not get along with each other, there are disagreements and even conflicts between others. Despite this, they have all supported us.

This is the reality brought about by our domestic policy, whereas foreign policy strengthens our positions. Therefore, there are all conditions for us to move forward along the development path. I am absolutely sure that Azerbaijan will continue to follow the path of stability, development and progress. All the issues of concern to our people today – problems related to social infrastructure, social justice - will be resolved. Congratulations again!

Residents: Thank you very much! All this is thanks to you.

President Ilham Aliyev then pressed a button to launch the drinking water supply system of Aghdash.