President: Much was done in army building in Azerbaijan last year
Baku, January 20 (AZERTAC). “A lot was done in army building last year,” President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has said.
The Head of State chaired a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers to discuss the results of the country`s socio-economic development in 2012 and outline priorities for 2013.
“Major steps were taken to strengthen our army, large volumes of equipment and ammunition were purchased and an infrastructure created. Our total military spending exceeded $3 billion last year. Our total military costs in this year`s budget are at $3.7 billion. For comparison, Armenia`s total budget is less than $2 billion. Of course, this creates new opportunities for us, and we will use them.”
In the issue of army building, it is not only logistics but also the professionalism and discipline that matter. The President noted: “Both professionalism and discipline should be reinforced. Army is a part of society. The citizens serving in the army are part of our society. As in any other field, there may be errors and shortcomings in the army. But the most important thing is that these mistakes and shortcomings should be identified in a timely manner, and the government is taking serious measures to do that. We will continue to implement policies aimed at strengthening the material and technical infrastructure of our army and bolstering professionalism and discipline.”
“Today our army is the leading military force in the South Caucasus. Our army has achieved a lot. We will never allow anti-national elements to tarnish our army and cast a shadow on its reputation. We will never allow that. As Commander-in-Chief, I will never allow that to happen. The people of Azerbaijan will never allow it either, they will give an adequate response to those trying to cast aspersions on our army,” President Ilham Aliyev added.
Other news in this section
