We cordially congratulate Your Excellency on the occasion of successful – for our people and state - completion of the free, fair and democratic presidential elections held on October 15! Having voted for talented politician and statesman Ilham Heydar oglu Aliyev, our people thus declared that they did not see alternatives to the far-sighted domestic and foreign policy, which you have been steadily and selflessly carried out during the last ten years. This choice completely corresponding to the logic of development of our independent state you are the architect and builder of, has ensured a reliable factor of political leadership for successive enhancement of the Azerbaijan.

Our dear and esteemed nation-wide leader,

Your grandiose 60-year activity included into the treasure of the global politics, has played an invaluable role in turning of the Azerbaijani people’s centuries-old dream of the state independence in to reality.

During the first period of your leadership over the republic in 1969-1982, thanks to your genius managing and organizational capabilities, wisdom and prescience, you created a solid foundation for the future political and state independence of our country, and made outstanding contribution to the development of national self-consciousness of our people. Your return to power on June 15, 1993, which entered the history as the National Salvation Day, has saved our independent state from the threat of annihilation, and our people – from that of to get into dependence of foreigners.

Your past-years savior and creator mission, due to your inflexible will, has made the independence of Azerbaijan eternal, irreversible and indestructible. Democratic, legal and secular state has been built in our country, where there is a triumph of principles of civil society and market economy. Powerful army has been created, and peace talks over the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict have begun on the base of the norms of international law.

Radical changes have been taken place in all spheres of life; political, economic, legal and social reforms including privatization and land reform have been carried out. As a result of the stabilization of the internal political situation, over 20 contracts on development of energy resources in the Azerbaijan’s sector of the Caspian have been signed, billions of investments have been attracted in the economy. Your new oil strategy has created necessary conditions for intensive revival of other branches of the economy.

Supremacy of law, human rights protection have been ensured and wide opportunities for the freedom of speech, idea and political pluralism have been created. Our country has been actively involved in transnational economic projects enabling to impact upon global processes; it has become a factor of the projects of restoration of the “Silk Road” and laying the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil and Baku-Erzerum gas pipelines.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has taken a worthy place in the international arena. Today, our independent state is a full member of many authoritative international organization including UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, Organization Islamic Conference, Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Commonwealth of Independent States, Organization of Economic Cooperation as well as an initiator and active participator of the regional structure GUUAM.

Our dear and esteemed nation-wide leader,

You are both architect and builder of the independent Azerbaijani statehood and founder of today’s parliament of Azerbaijan. Along with all attributes of the legal state built in our country, both our constitution and our Milli Majlis are the fruits of your creative intellect. We all are eye-witnesses of the your contribution to formation of our country’s legislative body. You have played invaluable role in creation and development of the legal base of our independent state. For the last seven years only, over 900 laws have been passed on the projects submitted by your initiative.

Our dear and esteemed nation-wide leader,

Your political and stat activity has become an example of loyal service to the people, readiness to any asperity for the sake of the people. Implementation of prospective plans in the name of our people’s happy future and prosperity of our stat, has a vital significance for further development of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is quite natural that taking all this into account, our people have voted in the 2003 presidential elections for worthiest alumnus of Heydar Aliyev’s school Ilham Aliev, and put those who had aspired to plunge Azerbaijan into the maelstrom of political instability in their place.

Our people know your political successor, the esteemed Ilham Aliyev, as a talented, skillful political and state figure. The huge successes gained by him in such high and important posts as the first deputy Chairman of “Yeni Azerbaijan” party, first vice-president of SOCAR, president of the National Olympic Committee, head of our delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and Bureau member, have become a source of our people’s pride. Everybody is aware of outstanding merits of Ilham Aliyev in consolidation of the ranks of the “Yeni Azerbaijan” party, realization of the oil strategy and economic development, attraction of foreign investments in the economy, expanding of the Olympic movement as well as expose of the aggressive policy and state terrorism of the Republic of Armenia.

As deputies of the Milli Majlis, we have worked side by side with Ilham Aliyev since 1995. We have always been proud of being a colleague of such an intellectual, pragmatically thinking and energetic person, with great understanding of the modern global politics and economy. We are grateful to Heydar Aliyev and its political school for the political and state figure of brilliant intellect.

Our dear and esteemed nation-wide leader,

We are confident that esteemed Ilham Aliyev due to his resoluteness, steadfastness and wisdom peculiar to the political successor of Heydar Aliyev, will successfully complete your grandiose initiatives, and your political course will define the development of Azerbaijan for many years to come.

We once again cordially congratulate you on the occasion of Ilham Aliyev’s election as President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and express to you our deep consideration and love for saving our independent state and bringing it to the today’s level. We wish for you to return homeland soon and make new contribution to the development of our country by your valuable advises and recommendations.

Yours respectfully,

Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan

The city Baku, November 1, 2003