POLITICS
PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV NAMED “POLITICAL FIGURE – PRESIDENT OF THE YEAR IN EURASIA”
According to respondents, under the President Ilham Aliyev’s leadership, Azerbaijan became a world’s most dynamically developing country in 2005, President Ilham Aliyev and his political party “Yeni Azerbaijan” won convincing victories in the 2003 Presidential and 2005 parliamentary elections, and pursued purposeful and effective policy towards putting into operation the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan the main export oil pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline and construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway. Fruitful meetings with heads of state and representatives of international organizations largely aimed at establishment of peace and cooperation in Eurasia, further strengthening of friendly and brotherly ties with Turkey, and establishment of economic and cultural relations with Northern Cyprus were also among factors positively influenced their opinion.
The annual award giving ceremony is usually held in May or June in Istanbul, and attended by well-known political and public figures, businessmen and heads of mass media organizations from Russia, Georgia, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Bulgaria and other Eurasian countries, in which opinion poll has been conducted.
Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of Romania Traian Beseku were named Political Figures of the Year in Eurasia in 2003 and 2004 respectively.