President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva viewed conditions created at the newly built Culture House in Gonagkand settlement, Guba district.

After familiarizing themselves with the Culture House, the head of state, the First Lady and their daughter met with the residents of the settlement.

Greeting the residents, President Ilham Aliyev said: It is nice to see you.

Member of Milli Majlis Vahid Ahmadov: You are welcome, Mr. President. Congratulations!

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

Vahid Ahmadov: You are welcome, Mr. President.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, this is my first time in Gonagkand.

Local residents thanked the head of state for the construction of the Guba-Gonagkand highway.

Vahid Ahmadov: May Allah be pleased with you for making this decision. The people are very pleased. In general, this region has both gas and electricity. Roads are being built. Life is very comfortable. I also want to congratulate you on the Victory.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Vahid Ahmadov: I also congratulated you on Twitter, but I had never seen you in person. You have won a brilliant victory. You have inscribed your name in the history of Azerbaijan in golden letters. We will never forget that.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Vahid Ahmadov: You have fulfilled the will of the Great Leader. Therefore, the people of Guba are very pleased with you. A lot of work has been done in Guba in recent years. All this is happening under your leadership. In particular, I express my deep gratitude to Mrs. Mehriban Aliyeva. She has done a great deal in the humanitarian field. We take a great interest in all that. In general, the President and the First Vice-President are doing a lot in Azerbaijan, and a lot more will be done in the future. For the first time in 200 years, Azerbaijan has liberated its lands. You have achieved this. This has been achieved thanks to your policy. I wish you the best of luck. You will also turn 60 on 24 December. I congratulate you on this occasion. I wish you good health, together with Mehriban khanim. I hope you see your grandchildren's wedding, Inshallah.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much indeed.

Elderly resident: Dear President, you are welcome to Gonagkand.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Elderly resident: These great days and this wonderful life have been given to us by great leader Heydar Aliyev. If we turn the pages of a thousand years of history, we will see that there has never been such a beautiful period, such a beautiful time and such a beautiful life.

Heydar came to the world as a sun,

His light falls everywhere.

Long live Azerbaijan, the land of heroes.

I met our Great Leader when he came to Guba district in 1970. I actually deserved his applause. Allah has now granted me the opportunity to meet you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Elderly resident: I have sent 14 soldiers to war since it began – three children and 11 grandchildren. Some were wounded, some are veterans, some are on the front line now. The bridges being built now cannot be replaced by any treasures. Herds of sheep have drowned in these two rivers. A lot of equipment has sunk in them. Gonagkand has never been like this before. This life, this comfort and all this work is the result of your tireless work and successful policy. Always be there for us!

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

Elderly resident: May Allah protect you. May Allah protect those who defend our people and homeland. There is a little poem I would like to recite with your permission.

Commander-in-Chief Ilham,

His courage is in the hearts of the people,

Every victory he has won is in the hearts of the people.

The iron fist broke the backs of enemy,

And made his country happy, made his people happy.

Every victory he has won is in the hearts of the people.

The voice of Ashig Vahid amazes everyone,

The celebration of 44 days is in the hearts of the people.

The glory of our army,

The power of our army,

The respect for our army

Are both on earth and in heaven.

Thank you, our Army, for standing like a man,

Like a lion in the guard of the homeland,

I am also with my people as a soldier.

I am ready for my homeland duty today.

Long live heroic Azerbaijan!

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.

Elderly resident: Always be there for us. May Allah protect you. May Allah protect our people and nation. Thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you, thank you very much. As you know, I am visiting Gonagkand for the first time, but I have heard a lot about this village and I know that this village has a great place in the history of Azerbaijan, it is a historical place, a historical settlement. I know that the people of Gonagkand have always been hardworking, have always been brave, have always guarded the Azerbaijani statehood. I also know that the main problem of this village was the problem of roads. Indeed, I think that the construction of this road can be considered a historic event. In terms of importance, it was the Khinalig road and the Gonagkand road in Guba district. The Khinalig road was also impassable, it took hours to get there, and the settlement was generally cut off during the winter months. The same applies to Gonagkand. Both Vahid and the Guba community have repeatedly raised this issue. Finally, we have achieved this. I have now come here from Guba in about half an hour. True, the roads are open when I come, but it is possible to get here in 40-45 minutes.

Vahid Ahmadov: We used to get here in two hours before.

President Ilham Aliyev: In two hours. Of course, there are sick and old people in the village, it was difficult to come and go to the village, deliver the merchandise produced here to the markets. This is why this road is very important. The village has also been supplied with gas for two years. There is electricity and there is water.

Elderly resident: The people are returning, Mr. President. Houses are already being built here, and those living in Baku are returning.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, when I came here, I saw along the way that new houses were being built in the villages. This is a beautiful tourist area. Since there was no road, tourists did not come here. I am sure that now beautiful recreation areas, hotels and public places will be created in these beautiful places. In other words, this part of Guba will revive. I have no doubt about that.

Vahid Ahmadov: Jobs are being created now. There is a revival. Thank you very much. Always be there for us.

President Ilham Aliyev: After the road is built, things will improve. Because the main occupation of the local people here is cattle breeding. The air is also clean and cool.

Vahid Ahmadov: You probably saw it on the way here. Tourism facilities are being built along the road.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, I have noticed that.

Vahid Ahmadov: They have sprung up in the past year.

President Ilham Aliyev: Many people will come here. Tourists will come here. As for the Karabakh war, it is a victory for all of us. Every citizen of Azerbaijan brought that holy day closer with hard work. We kept Karabakh in our hearts during the entire period of occupation, and a generation of young people grew up who did not see Karabakh. They have liberated Karabakh at the cost of their lives. We have restored historical justice. We have restored the dignity of our people. A new era is beginning now.

Vahid Ahmadov: An era of construction.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, construction work is underway in both Karabakh and Zangezur. At the same time, our recent work shows that if there are any revanchist tendencies, this issue will be resolved immediately on the spot. Because since the war ended, there have been several such attempts by Armenia, and they saw the bitter consequences of that. Therefore, it is not too late. I have repeatedly appealed to them, saying that they must accept our conditions and put an end to any insincere approaches to roads and communications. If this happens, then all the peoples of the South Caucasus will live in peace and tranquility. Because we were able to achieve what we wanted, and everyone saw it.

Elderly resident: Inshallah, with the grace of Allah.

President Ilham Aliyev: Armenia has seen that. The whole world has seen that. No-one has been able to stop us. There were those who wanted to stop us during the war, there were fairly strong circles, but they could not stop us. I said that they should give us a timetable of when they would vacate our lands, and we were ready to stop the war. I say the same thing today. I tell them to give us a date of when the Zangezur corridor will be opened, and there will be no problem in this case. Therefore, I think that both the Armenian leadership and the Armenian public must understand this. We have achieved what we wanted, and we will do that again. It would be better if this issue were resolved constructively through negotiations and mutual understanding. Because the second Karabakh war showed the resolve, strength and unity of our people to the whole world. On my way here I saw pictures of our martyrs. This is the case everywhere – I have been visiting the Karabakh region a lot recently – pictures of our martyrs are posted in the villages. In other words, this victory has been won by the entire Azerbaijani people.

Elderly resident: Everyone was like one person.

President Ilham Aliyev: Every citizen, every district resident, every representative. Therefore, this is a historic event, and although only a year has passed, notice how much we have done. I have visited Karabakh and Zangezur region more than 10 times. At the same time, I do not forget the rest of Azerbaijan.

Residents: Thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: I have come here to celebrate this wonderful occasion together with you.

Elderly resident: Dear President, I hope that Almighty will punish those who have betrayed the bread of Azerbaijan. May Allah bless you, may Allah bless our people, our homeland and our country. Thank you very much indeed.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. Inshallah.

Residents: Thank you.

President Ilham Aliyev: I am grateful to you.

Elderly resident: No treasures can replace your words, a minute of your time, every step you take. Good luck to you. May Allah protect you.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much, elder, thank you very much indeed. Let's have our photo taken in front of the monument to the Great Leader. How old are you?

Elderly resident: 85.

President Ilham Aliyev: Good for you!

Vahid Ahmadov: Looks like a young boy.

President Ilham Aliyev: Well done. These are beautiful places. There are probably many long-livers here.

Residents: There are many.

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President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva together with Gonagkand residents laid flowers at the statue of great leader Heydar Aliyev in the center of the settlement.

A picture then was taken.

X X X

Elderly resident: Thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much. I am grateful to you.

Vahid Ahmadov: On behalf of the local people, thank you very much indeed.

Elderly resident: Mr. President, with your permission, I will give a blessing.

President Ilham Aliyev: Yes, please.

Elderly resident: Good deeds and prayers will follow you.

They will protect you from mistakes and troubles.

Those waiting for roads will wait for you,

Every mother, every sister, every girl, every bride,

Go and come back safe and sound.

Go like a blizzard, come back like spring,

Come back like a lightning, play like the saz.

Like Koroglu's son Khan Eyvaz,

Crush our arch foes.

Go and come back safe and sound.

Let Azrail be blind and not see you,

Let your grandfather Ismayil protect you,

Let Jabrayil protect you

And not let his hand go off you.

Go and come back safe and sound, Inshallah.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

Residents: Always be there for us.

President Ilham Aliyev: Goodbye.

Residents: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much indeed. Always be there for us. May Allah help you.

Mehriban Aliyeva: Leyla, do come as well.

Elderly resident: I wish you good days too.

Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you. They were very beautiful poems. Thank you very much.

Elderly resident:

There are stones more precious than gold,

There are girls more dignified than men,

If the year isn’t very generous, what to do?

May good, prosperous and successful years come to our people.

Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you very much.

Elderly resident: Always be there for us.

Mehriban Aliyeva: I wish you good health. Thank you.

Residents: Thank you. We are infinitely grateful to you for paying so much attention to us. Thank you very much indeed.

Elderly resident: I hope the road ahead of you is always open.

Mehriban Aliyeva: Thank you very much. Goodbye.