As reported earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received in a video format Faig Qurbatov due to his appointment as head of Bilasuvar District Executive Authority and Elmir Baghirov due to his appointment as head of Saatli District Executive Authority.

AZERTAC presents excerpts from the President’s speech at the meeting.

“The business environment in Azerbaijan is improving with every year, and I believe that we have made some historic achievements within the Doing Business program. The president and the government will continue to support entrepreneurs. Therefore, I do not think that it would be right to invest heavily in foreign countries in the current situation. Let the pandemic end, the situation in the oil markets stabilize, economic growth pick up, and then I don’t mind, as I haven’t done before. But in the current situation, I think this is unacceptable. Of course, we cannot prohibit it in any legal way. Neither do we have such ideas. But we can exercise control over this, and relevant agencies of Azerbaijan should pay serious attention to this. If Azerbaijani businessmen, including representatives of large businesses, want to invest in foreign countries in the current situation, they will have to justify it and this issue should be in the spotlight.”

“The fight against corruption and bribery in Azerbaijan is being waged not in word but in deed. This struggle is highly appreciated by the people. I receive thousands of letters from citizens. They welcome my steps and, at the same time, draw my attention to some issues. I am glad that the mechanism of public control has become more organized lately. I welcome that.”