Baku, October 1, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have viewed conditions created at a newly-reconstructed park in Ataturk Avenue, Narimanov district, Baku.

Head of Baku City Executive Authority Eldar Azizov informed President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva of the work carried out in the park.

The reconstruction work started here this May. The park, which occupies a total area of 6.5 hectares, has children's playgrounds and a concert venue.

President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva met with residents in the park.

Residents: We are pleased to see you, Mr. President.

President Ilham Aliyev: Hello.

Resident: Thank you very much for the beauty created in this park. May Allah grant you a long life. You have been creating and building for years. Your friends see and rejoice, and your enemies are annoyed. There is bloodshed in the world. But, glory to Allah, our state, our country is developing. This development is the result of your great work. We are proud that we have a wise President and First Lady. May Allah grant you good health. I have seven grandchildren, I come here to have rest. Thank you very much for all this, may Allah protect you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you. At the beginning of the year, I was here at the opening of a new Innovation Center. On my way back, I saw that the state of this park was very deplorable and unbearable. I gave instructions to carry out improvement work here, and a 6.5-hectare park was quickly reconstructed and refurbished to the highest level. There are now all the opportunities for the recreation of the older generation, children, teenagers and young people. In general, Baku has become a city of squares and parks in recent years. I can say that by the number of parks we are in one of the highest places on a global scale.

Resident: Baku is a beautiful city today.

President Ilham Aliyev: Baku is one of the most beautiful cities in the world now. Look at how many parks have been created in our city in recent years. First of all, our largest park is the boulevard. Previously, the length of the boulevard was 3 kilometers, but today it is 15 kilometers. Everywhere there are green spaces, beauty and landscaping. Around the Heydar Aliyev Center and the Congress Center, there is a large park of 20 hectares. Today, children and the older generation go there to have rest. There is a park in Yusif Safarov Street. There, too, there were clumsy buildings and rundown infrastructure. Now there is a park there. So this work on improvement and creation is carried out for our people because they should use public places. This park also has excellent conditions.

A lot is being done to solve the problems of Baku. As you know, we have recently celebrated the opening of a new Transport Exchange Center near the Koroglu metro station. New buses are being delivered. This year, 300 buses were imported. They were imported earlier too. At least 300 modern buses will also be delivered next year. Baku is one of the cities where the construction of the metro is under way. I can say that in the CIS, metro construction continues only in Russia and Azerbaijan. This year, 30 new carriages were delivered. They have air conditioning and excellent conditions in general. All this is being done for people’s comfort. Currently, model courtyards are being created on my initiative. All courtyards will be landscaped, all conditions will be created in them. The elevators are being updated. For this purpose, 40 million manats have been allocated. City mayor, report on how many elevators have been replaced today.

Baku Mayor Eldar Azizov: Fifty elevators have already been installed. By the end of the year, in accordance with your instructions, there will be about 500 of them.

President Ilham Aliyev: In other words, all this is being done for the beauty of the city of Baku and for people’s comfort. We will continue this work. Every part of Baku should be comfortable and beautiful. Great opportunities must be created for citizens.

Resident: May Allah grant you good health. People love and support you. We always say that our President is with the people. He thinks about people day and night.

President Ilham Aliyev: This is the way it should be. Popular support gives me strength. I rely on this support. Today, Azerbaijan is a place of stability on a global scale, a place of development. Azerbaijan will only develop in the future – let no-one doubt that.

Resident: Mr. President, you and your wife are very sincere. May Allah protect you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much!

Another resident: Mr. President, I also wanted to thank you and Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva. It was very nice to meet with you. I want to express our gratitude to you for creating such a beautiful and modern open-air park. The park has truly excellent conditions. There are modern sports facilities, a chessboard, bicycle and jogging tracks. We also live in this territory. We used to go to other places to have some rest. Now there are modern and excellent conditions available here. We will be coming here often. I express my deep appreciation for this. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

President Ilham Aliyev: There should be beautiful parks and public spaces everywhere in the city, and we are creating them.

Residents: Thank you, Mr. President, all Azerbaijanis support you.