Breaking New Ground

Ilham Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

After receiving his doctorate, Ilham Aliyev lectured in International Relations at Moscow State University. From 1994 to 2003, President Aliyev, was the Vice-President and later the First Vice-President of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and was actively involved in the implementation of President Heydar Aliyev’s oil strategy. He is an author of numerous research works on the geopolitical aspects of Azerbaijan’s oil strategy. In 1995 and 2000, he was elected to the Milli Majlis (National Assembly) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. In 2003, he became Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan, before taking the Presidential oath of office later in the same year.

How can you assess the position of Azerbaijan as a regional and international economic and political power over the long term?

IA: We are very optimistic about the future. After 1993, Azerbaijan became a fully independent, self-reliant, and modern country with a sustainable economy and a national and civil unity that has stepped firmly toward democracy and is integrating successfully into the international community as well as acting as a leader in the South Caucasus region. In the years to come, we are resolved to make further achievements and participate more actively in regional and world politics in order to foster mutual cooperation, confidence, security, peace, and prosperity. Relying upon the successes and potential opportunities gained so far, I can say that Azerbaijan has a very brilliant future ahead of it, and we will use all possible means to reach this target.

How would you evaluate the potential of ICT to act as a driving force for economic development in Azerbaijan?

IA: In the contemporary period, ICT is very popular in all fields of life, and has become an integral part of public and economic processes. ICT is regarded as the most promising segment of the Azerbaijani economy. The National Strategy on Information and Communication Technologies for 2003-2012 and the First State Program for 2005-2008 were adopted in Azerbaijan in 2003. During this period, we created a free and competitive environment in the ICT market, attracted investments to this field, developed a legislative basis, modernized telecommunications infrastructure, and started to widely use the latest in technology. At present, the development pace of the ICT sector in the country surpasses general world indicators by several times. The report on the Global Development of Information Technologies for 2008-2009 prepared by the World Economic Forum indicates that Azerbaijan is moving ahead of several leading countries in its development of ICT and holds the leading position among CIS states. Today, Azerbaijan has become the region’s ICT hub, and the possibilities of the internet are expanding rapidly. According to the latest statistical data, the national internet penetration rate is 50%. If, several years ago, one computer was available for every 1,000 people in Azerbaijan, today the proportion goes to one computer per 15 persons. Azerbaijan is also becoming a country with a space industry. Azerbaijan’s first telecommunications satellite will be launched in 2012. Taking into account the geographical location of Azerbaijan and the development level of our national economy, we think that we have all the opportunities for the ICT sector to become the second most profitable field after the oil and gas sector in the near future.

Your Excellency declared 2011 as the “Year of Tourism”. What does your country intend to obtain by paying so much attention to its tourism potential?

IA: In general, we have the intention to fully develop all promising fields of life in Azerbaijan. Our country has quite a large and attractive tourism potential. On the one hand, Azerbaijan has nine climatic zones, beautiful and picturesque nature, rich flora and fauna, cultural heritage, and historical monuments. On the other hand, the large-scale measures undertaken in recent years to ensure rapid social and economic development have renovated all fields of public life and created an infrastructure of services, transport, communications, and public utilities that make for favorable conditions to make tourism become an economic priority. The State Program on the Development of Tourism for 2010-2014 is being implemented in Azerbaijan. Our main objective is to bring the national tourism sector in line with world standards by 2014. In the light of all these tasks, 2011 was declared the “Year of Tourism” in Azerbaijan. Modern hotels are being opened in large cities of the country to receive foreign guests. The system of tourism services is forming rapidly in all the regions. Almost 100 hotels were operational in 2003. However, their numbers exceeded 500 in 2010. For the time being, the construction of 35 new hotels is underway. By the end of 2011, six five-star hotels will be commissioned. The world-class Shahdag Winter-Summer Tourism Complex is of particular importance, being among the largest projects in the field of tourism. Of course, the state allocates substantial funds to help shape the modern tourism infrastructure. However, the hotels are constructed by the private sector. This means that there is much confidence in the development of Azerbaijan, which makes it possible to spend hundreds of millions in this economic field. Investors have confidence that these investments will make good returns. Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 and obtained the right to host this event in 2012. In 2012, we expect a large number of tourists to come, and therefore we have already started to undertake the relevant measures to create convenient conditions to stage this event as well as to accommodate the guests that will arrive and ensure their safety. There is no doubt that we will fulfill all our obligations entirely in appropriately organizing this major event.

July 2011, Interview by TBY.