President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received in a video format Joshgun Jabrayilov due to his appointment as head of Nizami District Executive Authority, Elgin Habibullayev due to his appointment as head of Narimanov District Executive Authority, Baku, and Elkhan Ibrahimov due to his appointment as head of Kurdamir District Executive Authority.

The head of state addressed the video conference.

Speech of President Ilham Aliyev

- You are being appointed as heads of executive authority today. You will be in charge of Nizami and Narimanov districts of Baku and Kurdamir district. Great confidence is being placed in you, and I am sure that you will live up to it, gain people’s respect through your work and make tangible effort to deepen the ongoing reforms in our country.

First of all, the situation in the districts should be thoroughly analyzed and special attention should be paid to the existing problems. In recent years, large-scale construction and improvement work, as well as extensive reforms have been carried out throughout the country. I must say that the adoption of the first State Program for Socioeconomic Development of the Regions in 2004 and similar programs in subsequent years has significantly changed the situation in the regions for the better. The main tasks have been fulfilled, issues related to infrastructure, repair and construction of social facilities, creation of public places and jobs, elimination of unemployment, i.e. all these indicators are also recorded by leading international financial institutions and, according to the overall development index, Azerbaijan is in the forefront of developing countries, in the top three. But this does not mean that we should be complacent with our achievements. There are still problems in the country and these problems must be resolved.

As for the regions, the revival and development in the regions has enabled large-scale work to be carried out in all regions of Azerbaijan. But there are still problems out there, including Baku, even though Baku has become one of the most beautiful cities in the world as a result of the work we are doing. Visitors to Baku and, of course, local residents are pleased to note that. But it would be wrong to say that all the problems of Baku have been resolved, of course. Baku is indeed one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but not all places in Baku meet these criteria. Therefore, development-focused steps must be taken in every single part of Baku. The solution of people’s problems should be in the forefront, both in Baku and in the regions.

You should be in constant contact with the people, hear about their problems from them and not be indifferent. This is the task I set before all officials. Because every civil servant is a servant of the people, including the President. I have said this many times in my speeches and when appointing heads of executive authority. Unfortunately, in some cases, instead of fulfilling their duties, the officials I appointed were engaged in illegal activities, corruption and bribery. They set their sights on the property of the poor and misappropriated the salaries of those hired by the state to do public work. They didn’t get away with this dishonesty and immorality. As you know, many heads of executive authority have been prosecuted, many have already been convicted, and some are under criminal investigation.

This applies not only to the heads of executive authority, but also all government officials. No-one can be above the law. Everyone is equal before the law. The duties and responsibilities of a civil servant should motivate them to follow the principles I have mentioned. Otherwise, they will be punished, and our work confirms this. A high position is not a great privilege, but a great responsibility. Therefore, you should realize this responsibility and take steps in this direction.

Proper selection of personnel in the field of personnel policy will greatly facilitate this work. Therefore, in selecting personnel, it is first of all necessary to take into account people’s capacity to work, their loyalty to statehood and to the state, and patriotism. Nepotism, kinship and any other principles should be completely eliminated. Personnel should be selected so that it can perform its duties with dignity. At the same time, as I said, patriotic people, people attached to the state and to the people should, of course, come to the fore. This must be taken into account when people are appointed to new positions.

The issue of employment of our children who fought heroically in the Patriotic War is also being resolved on my instructions. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is carrying out large-scale work in this area – the Employment Marathon is conducted. I have recommended that entrepreneurs, first of all, consider our young people who distinguished themselves in the Patriotic War. Of course, I have set this task before government agencies. You should also take into account this factor and provide jobs to the young people who were ready to sacrifice their lives. Various measures should be taken to improve their vocational skills. In other words, we must prepare them for the future. I want to emphasize again that the ability to work, patriotism and attachment to the state should be the main principles in the proper organization of personnel issues.

As a result of the development of the private sector in recent years, we have achieved great successes. I can say that this field has been an important part of my work as President since the very first days. As a result, we are now able to provide the basis of our gross domestic product, most of it, by the private sector, the non-oil sector. However, in the current situation, especially in the post-war period, the private sector has even greater responsibilities. Of course, first of all, it should pay attention to the liberated lands and establish businesses there. I have repeatedly expressed my views on this issue. At the same time, they should be active wherever they operate. This activity is facilitated by the state. As President, I have always supported entrepreneurs – morally, in terms of infrastructure, concessional loans and other steps. On the ground, they must have the opportunities to invest and create jobs. In a nutshell, you should help them, not hamper their work. The development of the private sector should be aligned with the directions of our overall economic policy.

In short, although we have achieved a great success, there are many problems facing the country, and the solution of these problems on the ground depends largely on government officials. The state and the government are doing what they should. At the same time, our legislature, the Milli Majlis, adopts laws. The president signs decrees and adopts state programs. The government takes steps to deepen day-to-day reforms. So all necessary measures are being taken. In addition, the financial resources generated as a result of our successful policies provide such opportunities. We are now one of a handful of countries in the world that does not depend on anyone, is completely economically independent and does not need any loans. On the contrary, I have ordered that our foreign debt should be reduced every year, and last year it accounted for only 17 percent of our GDP. I ordered to reduce it to 15, 12, 10 percent. It would be wrong to say that we do not have financial problems, but at the same time, we are doing all this work ourselves. In particular, we have not received a single manat of assistance or loan from anyone to revive Karabakh and Zangazur. In other words, this gives reason to say that the problems can be resolved only if work on the ground is properly organized.

The existing problems in the villages of Kurdamir district should be properly analyzed. The head of the executive authority should go to all the villages and meet with their residents. If the problems of every village are resolved, then all the problems will be practically resolved. Also, work in Nizami and Narimanov districts of Baku should be carried out in such a way that these districts are exemplary.

In order to resolve the problems that cannot be resolved on the ground – of course, there are such problems too – you should apply to the central executive bodies. You should address the solvable problems yourself so that people are satisfied with you. If people are happy with you, I will be happy with your work.

I want to say again that a great confidence is being placed in you. I am making this appointment open to the public so that everyone can see my recommendations and your responsibility again. I wish you good luck.

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Joshgun Jabrayilov: Dear Mr. President, I would like to express my deep gratitude to you for your great trust. I promise to do my best to live up to this great confidence through my work.

Elgin Habibullayev: Dear Mr. President, I also express my deep gratitude for your great confidence. It is both a great honor and a great responsibility to be appointed by your order. I promise to do my best to fulfill all the tasks you have set and justify your great confidence.

Elkhan Ibrahimov: Dear Mr. President, I express my deep gratitude to you for your great confidence. I will try to justify this confidence by building our work on modern governance principles you have defined.

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you.