I congratulate most cordially you, an outstanding representative of modern literature of Azerbaijan on your 70th birthday.

Your name has always been mentioned with respect among representatives of literate generation, preserving and developing rich traditions of Azerbaijani poetical art, overcoming difficult trials of times and the period of independence. Your half-century heritage, having become an important event in Azerbaijani poetry due to your ties with people, brought you love of the nation.

The main topic of your works, which due to their original art style created a vivid poetical chronicle of our times, beautiful words are always on lips - is sing to patriotism, calling to national self-consciousness.

Your deep philosophic works, created with high poetic inspiration, depicting people and life with love, nature, making a reader to think and convincing them in the force of the word of art, widely reflect historical past, national and moral values of people of Azerbaijan, human thoughts. Your beautiful poetry, which turned the aspiration of people to freedom into ideal of our literature, glorified it, and is prominent for love towards motherland, civil point and moral intelligence.

Thoughts of our contemporary, connected with life, surrounding world, have found their reflection in your creative activity. A number of music works have been written to your verses and it is the evidence that you have used opportunities of our language like a master and managed to create nice samples. Side by side with your literate creative work, you activities in publicity, translation and publishing activities should be especially mentioned and deserve all kind of good words.

I believe that young representatives of Azerbaijani poetry will use the school of your creative works, singing the ideas of freedom, enriching history of our literate and art thought by remarkable characters, connected with motherland and nature. Your poetry, having achieved the highest point of modern art, became one of irreplaceable sources for bringing up many generations of our independent Azerbaijan in the spirit of moral purity and patriotism.

I wish you happiness, health and success.

Heydar Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

October 13, 2003