Germany’s Der Spiegel publishes article about Azerbaijan
Baku, August 22 (AZERTAC). The August issue of the Germany's weekly news magazine Der Spiegel published an article entitled "A country of economic miracles - Azerbaijan: a powerful model of modernization on the Caspian Sea."
The article covers socio-economic development of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani-German relations, multilateral activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
"It’s like a calm flowing process of evolution: when the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years ago, and broken up into little-known small republics, no one could imagine the magnitude of the changes that have occurred in the distant Caucasus. Many in Germany saw countless risks and very little chance in this region. But these events were a fluke for Azerbaijan, which is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea, in the south of Russia and north of Iran. The country, which has large reserves of oil and gas, today is one of the fastest growing countries in the world,” the article reads.
“Over the past eight years more than a million new jobs has opened in Azerbaijan with a population of 9.3 million people. At a time when Europe is growing anxiety about the euro, the Caucasian country is proud of its stability. During the meeting in Baku with President Ilham Aliyev in early July, the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said that the rapid development of Azerbaijan made a good impression on him. He further pointed out that the official Baku and Brussels have already achieved some progress on "Eastern Partnership", according to Der Spiegel.
"We have a great potential for further development of relations," said Herman Van Rompuy, adding that Azerbaijan is a secular state, and the European Union highly appreciates its religious values and cultural tolerance. Despite the fact that the South Caucasus republic is an Islamic country, its population is proud to present the daily life of religious freedom, transparency and tolerance,” the article says.
“Azerbaijan is characterized by cross-cultural dialogue, education and strong economic development; it is not only a progressive country, but also the state, preserving the balance. Maintaining the balance, Azerbaijan can be described as a model of modernization. To this end, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation operates at the national and international level. This organization supports many projects in the field of education, training, culture, science, technology, environment and sport. The Foundation has offices in Russia, USA, Turkey and Romania. The purpose of the Foundation is to find common ground between the different cultures, to create opportunities for the peaceful co-existence in a globalizing world… In 2009, the Foundation has provided financial assistance to the restoration of the ancient stained-glass windows of the Cathedral in Strasbourg. This cathedral is one of the most important monuments of the Middle Ages… President of the Foundation, Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO and ISESCO Mehriban Aliyeva said: "One of the thorniest problems facing the world today is the devaluation of moral ideas, the substitution of erroneous ideas. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan is an Islamic country, along with preservation of secular values, Azerbaijan has achieved consistent strengthening of its international links… President of the Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva described the revival of charity, originating from the first oil boom here, as the most outstanding achievement of the country,” according to the article.
The author further analyzes that “Reformers on the Caspian Sea for the past 20 years liberalized the economy, created favorable conditions for the formation and operation of private businesses, improved the investment climate in the country.” “Today Azerbaijan does not count only on its rich oil and gas resources. The country confidently strides towards creating a model for the future development, based on the non-oil sector... The realization of the dream to reach the "stars" is coming. Azerbaijan will soon launch its first satellite.”
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