Baku, November 12, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Babatunde Osotimehin.

Babatunde Osotimehin thanked the head of state for the successful cooperation with the UN, and praised the conditions created by the government of Azerbaijan for the development of the bilateral relations. Babatunde Osotimehin recalled Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev`s attending the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, and noted that Azerbaijan gained great achievements in the fields of human rights and children`s rights, and attached importance to gender equality and the protection of women`s and mothers` rights. He hailed the work done in Azerbaijan on this front. Touching upon the country`s favorable geographical location and accomplishments, the Executive Director emphasized Azerbaijan`s role in strengthening peace and security in the region. Saying that the United Nations Population Fund was interested in expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan, Babatunde Osotimehin stressed the importance of joint programs and cooperation with the UN institutions. The Under-Secretary-General said they want to cooperate with Azerbaijan in educational, healthcare, information and communication technologies and other spheres.

The head of state thanked Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Babatunde Osotimehin for kind words, which he said about the country and its achievements. President Ilham Aliyev noted that the social policy has always been one of the key priorities for Azerbaijan since regaining independence, adding that meeting the country`s needs has been the main focus of attention. Emphasizing the role of economy in carrying out the social policy, the head of state said that the implementation of the social programs was impossible without a strong economy. President Ilham Aliyev noted that the economic reforms were carried out in parallel with the social programs without a negative impact on the everyday life of people in Azerbaijan. The head of state said that as a result, growing economy has been accompanied by better living conditions of people. Touching upon the reforms in the field of healthcare, the President said more than 500 modern hospitals were built in the country and supplied with state-of-the-art medical equipment. Noting that every year millions of people have free medical examination, President Ilham Aliyev described this as an essential part of the social policy carried out in the country.

President Ilham Aliyev said Azerbaijan was keen to enhance cooperation with the UN and its institutions in a variety of spheres.

Then on behalf of the United Nations Population Fund, Babatunde Osotimehin handed the award to President Ilham Aliyev. The award recognizes the Azerbaijani President`s display of political will, tireless activities and tremendous efforts towards fulfilling the tasks set by the UN International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, his support for the Sustainable Development Programme in Azerbaijan, as well as his contributions to the improvement of the healthy living conditions of women and youth.