Baku, October 2, AZERTAC
The opening ceremony of the 74th International Astronautical Congress has been held at the Baku Convention Center. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their son Heydar Aliyev attended the event. The head of state addressed the opening ceremony of the Congress.
President Ilham Aliyev announced certain figures regarding the development indicators of Azerbaijan during his speech at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku.
“So, in the last 20 years, our GDP grew four times, our budget revenues grew more than 30 times, foreign trade turnover more than 10 times. We managed to reduce our direct foreign debt, and now it is around 10% of GDP and by the end of 2024, according to our plans, it will be around 7-7.5% of GDP. Foreign exchange reserves in Azerbaijan exceed our direct foreign debt 10 times. So, in other words, if we would like, we can repay all our debts within a couple of months,” the head of state said. “So, total investments in the last 30 years were more than 300 billion US dollars,” President Ilham Aliyev added.
“If you look at today’s map of energy and transportation routes, including pipelines, you will see the touch of Azerbaijan. The projects, which we initiated and successfully completed together with our neighbors and partners, actually, is a big contribution to energy security, not only of our region,” said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the opening ceremony of the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku.
“Today, energy security is an integral part of the national security of every country, and today Azerbaijan is a reliable supplier of energy resources to international markets and is considered by the European Union as a pan-European supplier,” the head of state emphasized.
“Azerbaijan is also known as a country where the first oil in the world was produced in the middle of the 19th century. And at that time, we were producing more than half of the world’s oil production and maybe not many people know that the first offshore oil was also produced in Azerbaijan in the Caspian by Azerbaijani oil workers in the middle of the 20th century,” said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the opening ceremony of the 74th International Astronautical Congress.
“When we are independent, our natural resources serve the benefit of our people. The rapid transformation during the years of independence is actually a demonstration of the proper use of our natural wealth,” the head of state pointed out.
