SPEECH OF PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV
Dear friends!
I would like to say welcome to all of you to our day of Azerbaijan. I’d like to especially welcome our big friend, President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge, who made great contributions to development of sport and Olympic movement not only in Azerbaijan but also around the world.
I am happy to see here our friends with whom the Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan has always maintained very good relations and will continue to do so in the future.
I am very proud of being a president of the Olympic Committee of Azerbaijan for seven years, and for this period, Azerbaijan has become an active member of the international Olympic family.
Azerbaijan has always been famous by its athletes. But only the country became independent, Azerbaijan as an independent state has become a member of the International Olympic Committee. The Olympic family is a unique in the world. This family unites not only athletes but the whole world, and the Olympic games is the largest international event in the world.
The Olympic movement in Azerbaijan became very important element of our life. We pay very big importance to development of sport, Olympic movement in the country. We create modern sport facilities. I can tell you that for the last four years, we have built over 10 sport complexes. All of them meet high international standards. Azerbaijani sportsmen are successfully competing in the international events.
We have several Olympic champions, world and European champions. And it is also very important that in Azerbaijan sport became very popular among yang people, children. I think it is our biggest achievement.
Today, in Azerbaijan sport is a mass event.
Azerbaijan is strongly committed to the ideals, Olympic movement.
I am confident that Azerbaijan will continue its policy towards development of sport and Olympic movement.
With the support of our friends, International Olympic Committee, international federations, who supported a lot our country, we will improve our achievements.
I am also proud that for the last years Azerbaijan has hosted several sport events - World cup, world and European championships, and three Olympic qualification tournaments, and all of them were organized on a very high level.
In conclusion, President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude to the ceremony participants for coming, invited them to visit Azerbaijan and wished athletes successful performance in the Games.
Afterwards, on behalf of the Kirghiz delegation, a national costume was presented to the Azerbaijani leader.
The Head of State, then, met and conversed with members of the Azerbaijan national Olympic team.
Following the ceremony, President Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Azerbaijani journalists.
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