Baku, April 19, AZERTAC

The early years (1991-1993) of Azerbaijan’s renewed independence were a very challenging time with instability and various crises in the country. The country was unstable and fragile with various crises, the economy was in decline, and the war in Karabakh tore the nation apart. The young leadership was not capable of governing the country, having no political experience or control over government apparatus.

But Azerbaijan’s rich natural resources and important strategic location between East and West, has always made the country very attractive for the great powers. The competition for influence between the great powers, especially the pressure from some political circles in neighboring countries, required building a balance between the interests of global powers and powerful neighbors.

In 1993, Heydar Aliyev returned to the political arena to rescue his nation, not letting competing forces and the war in Karabakh tear the nation apart. He had once been one of the most influential leaders of the USSR, which covered one sixth of the land in the world. His wealth of political experience and his personality meant that he was uniquely equipped to lead Azerbaijanis through the many crises facing the country.

Heydar Aliyev introduced a pragmatic foreign policy which meant building constructive relations with powers like the USA, EU, Türkiye and Israel, as well as wise partnerships with actors like Russia and Iran, thus balancing the relations with major global and regional powers. Azerbaijan’s multi-vector policy became a state strategy, avoiding allying with any geopolitical bloc, but opting for economic, energy and military cooperation with both sides. Heydar Aliyev, who was also experienced in petro-politics, had a clear vision regarding relations with the main actors and in 1994 Azerbaijan signed the Contract of the Century with foreign oil companies despite various crises in the country. It was the biggest deal ever signed in the former Soviet Union to develop Azeri, Chiraq and Guneshli fields in the Caspian, which were vital for the country’s economic development. He brought in 11 foreign oil companies from 6 countries. Some of the companies were initially hesitant, but after meeting Heydar Aliyev they changed their minds and asked to be involved. Through their involvement, President Aliyev wanted to share and mitigate the possible risks between all the key players, to secure Azerbaijan’s independence, as well as its economic growth and prosperity.

The consortium (AIOC) established by the oil companies started a pilot - an early oil project. The main objective for Azerbaijan was to build trust and confidence with foreign investors and attract sufficient investment for full-field development of the ACG fields.

On November 7, 1997, the first oil was produced from the Chiraq platform. On 12 November, the government of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) marked the start of oil production from the Chirag field. Many foreign dignitaries, including US Secretary of Energy Federico Pena, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze, and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz of Türkiye, attended the celebrations.

At the ceremony of the first oil celebration held at the Republic Palace, President of AIOC and bp representative Terry Adams presented Heydar Aliyev with a botanical drawing of a variety of rose registered in his name at the International Rose Association:

“This rose, Mr. President, from this day forth, will be known around the world as the “President Heydar Aliyev Rose of Peace” and will also be flourished in the national botanical gardens in each of the countries represented in the AIOC oil consortium.

This rose, specially bred from original varieties of roses dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, is named the “President Heydar Aliyev Rose of Peace.”

It was bred by “James Cocker & Sons” of Aberdeen, Suppliers of Roses to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, and was delivered to 10 Downing Street to be planted in the garden of the British Prime Minister.

In 1998, two hundred bushes of the “President Heydar Aliyev Rose of Peace” were delivered to Baku and presented to all AIOC shareholder companies for planting in the national botanical gardens of the countries that they represent. I handed over the bushes of this rose brought from London to the President’s Administration for planting in the Mardakan botanical garden in Baku.

November 12 was really President Heydar Aliyev’s Day. He was the one who had the vision to see the benefit that oil developments would bring to Azerbaijan. Chirag’s first oil was the embodiment of his vision. And the results followed when Azerbaijan’s economy recorded the fastest growth in the world.

After early oil project, full-field development of the ACG fields, and construction of the main Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) export pipeline, started. At the time, the critics of Heydar Aliyev called BTC pipeline construction an unrealistic dream. Supporting these developments was an utmost priority, especially by taking on the challenge of transforming the pipe dream of the BTC project into a pipeline reality. The BTC vision was ambitious and needed an in-depth commitment and understanding in the hermetic worlds of business, politics, and technology. If such a pipeline could run to the Mediterranean, it would create a critical new source of supply meeting the demand of vast regions in the West that are so hungry for oil. This would help strengthen the independence of the countries after the fall of a big Soviet empire and provide the newly independent states with a degree of control over the export of their most valuable commodity. The alternative could be a reiteration of the old empire scenario, regaining the control of the new sovereignties, and leaving the export of ‘‘black gold’’ in the hands of the powerful neighbor. As a result, the new states would be under constant threat and potentially divert their energies to non-productive geopolitical concerns.

Heydar Aliyev’s balanced and mutually beneficial relations with global powers - the United States and Russia, have brought great advantages to Azerbaijan in the diplomatic and political spheres.

This has been seen once again during the military conflict with Armenia in the autumn of 2020. In the 44-day war, Azerbaijan won not only on the battlefield, but also at diplomacy, and liberated Karabakh from occupation and restored its internationally recognized territorial integrity. A peace deal has been agreed upon between Armenia and Azerbaijan to establish lasting peace in the region.

Now, looking back you get a great sense of pride that Azerbaijan has achieved tremendous successes in building a prosperous nation. Azerbaijan’s economy has become the faster-growing economy and today it is known as a successful model in the world. I am proud to have witnessed the great achievement of Heydar Aliyev’s oil strategy and to have been part of Azerbaijan’s history in the making.

The oil strategy of Azerbaijan gave the world an “oil-scented rose”. May the perfume of the “President Heydar Aliyev Rose of Peace” created by the oil of Azerbaijan nowadays always find its way to win hearts and minds and be the bulwark of peace all over the world.