Baku, February 27, AZERTAC

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has presented the Order "For Service to Motherland" 1st Class to Artur Rasizade.

Congratulating Artur Rasizade on the anniversary of his birth, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Mr. Rasizade, first of all, I would like to congratulate you on the anniversary of your birth and wish you good health and a long life. For many years, you have been working hard in the name of the development of Azerbaijan – both in Soviet times and in the period of independence.

For a long time, you worked under the leadership of great leader Heydar Aliyev. Back in the late 1970s, Heydar Aliyev appointed you to a very senior role – deputy chairman of the State Planning Committee. At that time, during the Soviet period, this committee played a special role in the development of the economy in the Republic of Azerbaijan, so you were assigned with this responsible mission even in your young years.

After that, you worked in senior positions both in the Central Committee and in the Cabinet of Ministers. During the years of independence, three years after returning to power, great leader Heydar Aliyev appointed you to the post of prime minister. For 22 years you have worked hard in this position and made a great contribution to the development of our country. For 15 out of these 22 years, we worked together, and these years were very important for the economic development of our country. Azerbaijan has rapidly developed over the years and is the leading state in the world in terms of economic development. You have contributed to all of these positive achievements. I believe that over these 15 years all the tasks we set have been successfully completed and the industrial potential of our country has grown significantly. Major infrastructure projects were implemented in our country and the well-being of our citizens was improved. Clear evidence of that is the increase in salaries and pensions almost 8-10 times on average.

Today, Azerbaijan is one of the stronger states that firmly stand on their feet. We have been able to come out of many trials with dignity. Although the economic and financial crisis that took place in the world several years ago did affect us, I believe that we were able to overcome this situation with the most insignificant losses. At that time, of course, we were constantly in contact, and I believe that the steps taken in a timely manner saved us from major problems.

The Azerbaijani state appreciates your activity. In 2005, 2010 and 2015, I awarded you with the “Istiglal”, “Sharaf” and “Shohrat” orders. I believe that this is a fair assessment of your activities by the state.

On the eve of your birthday anniversary, by my executive Order, you were decorated with the Order "For Service to Motherland" 1st Class. Although you are retired now, you have been awarded taking into account both your past merits and your current active and unambiguous position. Let me present this order to you.

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President Ilham Aliyev presented the Order "For Service to Motherland" 1st Class to Artur Rasizade.

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Artur Rasizade said:

- Dear Mr. President, I express deep appreciation to you for the recognition of my work. I am proud to have been a pupil and ally of the great leader for many years. I am proud that since 2003, as a result of hard work, you have led Azerbaijan along the path of progress and development in all directions. I am absolutely convinced that this trend will be continued in the future. I have no doubt about that.

Mr. President, I wish you good health, a long life and continued success. I am fully sure that the position of our republic both at home and abroad will be further strengthened in the coming years. I want to once again sincerely thank you for your attention to me. I hope our next meeting takes place in Nagorno-Karabakh. I totally believe in that. Everyone knows this but I want to say it again. Your constant and priority attention to the Armed Forces, of course, has increased our combat effectiveness by several times. In general, I can talk about development until the next morning. You addressed the key issues in your speech yourself. Once again, I express my deep gratitude to you. I believe that nothing can be higher than the words “Service to the Motherland”. Therefore, please accept my heartfelt gratitude again. I wish you good health and every success. I hope we can always rejoice in your work and achievements. I am absolutely convinced that it should be the case. Thank you again!