OFFICIAL NEWS
VISIT OF AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENT ILHAM ALIYEV TO STRASBOURG
PRESIDENT OF AZERBAIJAN ILHAM ALIYEV MADE A SPEECH AT PACE SPRING SESSION
Participants of the session warmly greeted the President of Azerbaijan Republic.
Chair of the session thanked the President of Azerbaijan for acceptance of the invitation to come to the session. The, he gave the floor to President Ilham Aliyev.
President Ilham Aliyev gave detailed information on the legal reforms, socio-political and economic situation in the Republic during three years of its council of Europe membership. Speaking of the economic development, head of state said that Azerbaijan is developing country, in the last seven years growth of the GDP made up 90 percent, while the level of inflation was lower than 2-3 percent. Share of private sector in the GDP reached 75 percent. For today, $17 billion were invested in the Country’s economy, $12 billion of which is direct foreign investments. Azerbaijan is a free, democratic country with pluralist and market economy country.
Dwelling on the Armenian- Azerbaijani Nagorny Karabakh conflict, President Ilham Aliyev reminded the hard sequences of the Armenian aggression, underlining that this conflict should be settled in the frame of international legal norms and in the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan will never agree to lose its territories and in the XXI century, occupation by one Council of Europe member state of the territories of another COE member-state is inadmissible and international community should not allow it.
Touching upon the Country’s integration to the European family, the Head of Azerbaijani State said that it is our strategic choice. Azerbaijan will further continue its active membership in the Council of Europe.
Then, President Ilham Aliyev answered the questions of session participants, stressing that should the negotiations for peaceful settlement of the problem gives not any result, then, Azerbaijan will reconsider its policy.