The Ministry of Health held an event at the Ganja Medical College to commemorate the 107th anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic of the Muslim East.

The meeting began with the playing of the National Anthem of Azerbaijan and a minute of silence in memory of the souls of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev and our martyrs who lost their lives for the liberation of our lands.

Then, the director of the college, Honored Doctor Mehman Rzayev, emphasized that the declaration of Azerbaijan's independence with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on May 28, 1918, was a logical result of the process of national revival of our people with rich statehood traditions:

“The establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic is one of the most important events in the history of our statehood. Our first independent republic existed for only 23 months. The Azerbaijani people, relying on their statehood traditions, restored their state independence on October 18, 1991. However, what happened in the first years of our independence showed that preserving freedom is more difficult than achieving it. If in June 1993, the Great Leader of our people Heydar Aliyev had not entered the political arena with a mission of salvation, perhaps our current independence would not have existed. Only as a result of the great genius of Heydar Aliyev, the rich political experience and foresight of this brilliant personality as an outstanding statesman, our independence was saved, and our statehood "the perpetuity of the country was ensured," M. Rzayev added.

The college employees Najiba Alasgarova, Natavan Aliyeva and Matanat Nabizadeh, who spoke, emphasized that the People's Republic, which was in power for 23 months, restored the national self-awareness of our people, clearly demonstrated to the whole world that it is capable of determining its own destiny, and took steps that enriched our statehood traditions. Thus, in a short period of time, the first parliament, government, and army of Azerbaijan were created, state attributes were established, and important measures were taken in the field of state building. It is no coincidence that the history of the formation of many state institutions in our modern republic today begins with the period of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

The speakers also noted that our tricolor flag, raised by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 and re-raised as the official flag by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev in 1990, when the USSR still existed, was waved by the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev throughout Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur, and in Khankendi, which had been under the captivity of Armenian separatism for nearly two centuries. The proud waving of our flag in the liberated territories is an unforgettable statehood legacy of the President, Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev to future generations.

Finally, on the eve of May 28, Independence Day, party cards were presented to new members of the college's New Azerbaijan Party.