This year, the 99th anniversary of the birth of Heydar Aliyev, the savior son of our people, the founder and founder of the modern Azerbaijan state, the great leader who won the eternal love of the people, is celebrated with a solemn ceremony. The life and political activities of Heydar Aliyev, the genius leader who had unparalleled services in the establishment and development of the national statehood traditions of our country, occupy an exceptional place in the latest history of Azerbaijan.

The great leader Heydar Aliyev led the republic in separate periods when Azerbaijan had two different and even completely contradictory political formations. The national leader led the Azerbaijan SSR in 1969-1982 and the already independent Azerbaijan in 1993-2003. It should be unequivocally noted that thanks to Heydar Aliyev's selfless work, effective business acumen, visionary leadership and organizational talent, Azerbaijan developed rapidly and comprehensively during the Soviet era and became one of the pioneer republics of the former Union. In 1969-1982, as a result of the rapid growth of production in all sectors of the country's economy, the national income, which is a general indicator of economic and social development, more than doubled. The breakthrough development of all fields in Azerbaijan - industry, science, education, health care, the creation of science-intensive production areas was ensured precisely by the efforts and purposeful activity of Heydar Aliyev, and the intellectual, scientific-technical and economic potential of the republic increased significantly. During his leadership of the republic, Heydar Aliyev paid special attention to the training of Azerbaijani national personnel. It was the result of his initiative that young Azerbaijanis were sent to study in the most prestigious universities of the former Union. In 1969-1982, more than 10,000 young Azerbaijanis returned to the republic after studying in prestigious universities of Russia, Ukraine and other republics, and made valuable contributions to the development of Azerbaijan.

Although Azerbaijan declared its independence in 1991, due to the incompetence of some politicians who were at the helm of power at that time, it was not possible to strengthen this independence in the true sense and strengthen the foundations of the state. Also, Armenia's policy of aggression and internal strife seriously threatened the independence gained just a year ago, and even the existence of our state. At such a decisive moment, the attention of healthy forces of the society was focused on Nakhchivan. The most progressive and patriotic people of Azerbaijan knew very well how necessary Heydar Aliyev was for the people. The events that happened in June 1993 were calculated to erase the country from the world map. On the one hand, Armenian invaders occupied our historical homeland with the support of foreign forces, on the other hand, the struggle for power inside the country turned into a civil war. On the most difficult day of the people, the great leader Heydar Aliyev came to Baku.

This was the urgent demand of the people. The great leader's return to Baku saved Azerbaijan. The fading dreams of independence of the nation have revived, our people have faith in today and hope for tomorrow. In June 1993, Heydar Aliyev, who was elected as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, spoke before the people and defined the ways to eliminate the current state crisis, the main directions of the internal and foreign policy of the independent Azerbaijan state. The great leader courageously undertook the mission of the salvation of the people and our statehood, facing very real dangers. With this, the tension and conflict that has been going on in the country for years subsided, and our republic was saved from the civil war and the threat of disintegration. After long-lasting internal strife, socio-political stability emerged in the country, albeit fragile at first. The next indicator of Heydar Aliyev's foresight and wisdom was the start of negotiations towards a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. At that time, the Armenian side, fearing the counterattacks of the Azerbaijani army, also went to negotiations, and in May 1994, a ceasefire was declared between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The cessation of war and the establishment of stability in the South Caucasus region increased the confidence of foreign oil companies in Azerbaijan, and in September of the same year, the "Contract of the Century" was signed between SOCAR and the world's leading oil companies, which laid the foundation for economic progress in our republic. It should be noted that the signing of the "Contract of the Century" was one of the most important things done to ensure the socio-economic development of the country. This agreement, covering 8 countries for the first time, paved the way for the signing of 26 more agreements with 41 oil companies representing 19 countries in the following years. The country's oil sector has been rapidly developed due to the signed contracts, the development of the non-oil sector and the solution of social problems of the population have been achieved due to the funds coming into the country.

Reforms in the economy since 1994, adaptation of legislation, tax and banking systems to the rapidly changing economic conditions, implementation of a new economic policy that meets the principles of the market economy have given impetus to the beginning of the development phase in all areas. The economic reforms implemented in Azerbaijan under the initiative and leadership of the great leader gave successful results in a short period of time and led to economic development and created the foundations for the powerful economic foundations of our country. As in all fields, Azerbaijan has integrated into the world economy in the economic field, has become an active subject of interstate relations, and has taken its rightful place on the world scale.

The great leader's multifaceted development strategy based on national interests is being successfully continued today by the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev. As a result of the successful domestic and foreign policy implemented after the Azerbaijani people showed their trust in Mr. Ilham Aliyev 18 years ago, our country entered a new stage of development.

Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has achieved all the strategic goals it has set for itself during the past period. During this period, huge transnational energy projects were implemented, magnificent landscaping and construction works were carried out in all parts of the country, the welfare level of our people increased many times, and fundamental steps were taken in the direction of Azerbaijan's recognition and high reputation in the world. At the same time, the implementation of systematic, comprehensive and fundamental reforms in all areas based on the political will of the head of state during the past period ensured the further growth of Azerbaijan's power. The rational and pragmatic foreign policy of Azerbaijan, the leading state of the South Caucasus region, ensured the strengthening of strategic partnership relations and the constant increase in the number of friends and partners. Azerbaijan, which has become a regional power center during the past period, has been recognized as a reliable partner in the system of modern international relations. At the same time, our republic introduced new and more progressive values to the system of international relations based on criteria such as peace, stability, development, mutually beneficial cooperation, in addition to national interests and international legal norms. As a result of the work carried out in the direction of army building, which is one of the most important priorities of the strategic course implemented under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijan Army has been ranked among the 50 strongest armies in the world today. And finally, as a logical result of all these processes, the Azerbaijani Army achieved a brilliant historic Victory in the Patriotic War and secured the territorial integrity of our country. With this confident victory, Azerbaijan demonstrated its power to the whole world.

There is no doubt that the strategic directions prepared by our national leader and confidently developed by our head of state for the comprehensive development of our country will serve to further strengthen and strengthen our independent state, increase its economic power, and further raise the level of welfare of our people for many years to come.

Mehman Rzayev

Director of Ganja Medical College, Honored Doctor of the Republic of Azerbaijan