Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the World Economic Forum in Baku

The World Economic Forum (Davos forum) on the subject of Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the South Caucasus and Central Asia" has started in Baku, SIA reports citing the official website of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The opening ceremony of the forum was attended by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva.

The attention of the world is focused on Azerbaijan once again. Baku, which has been hosting high-level international events in recent years, is the venue of the World Economic Forum. Renowned economists predicting the global economic situation, experts, state and government officials have chosen Baku as a center of discussions on important economic issues of concern to humanity.

The overall agreement on conducting the World Economic Forum in Baku was reached at a meeting of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev with the founder and executive chairman of the Davos Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, in Davos on 23 January.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Klaus Schwab said the World Economic Forum being held in Baku was important for the future of the South Caucasus and Central Asia. He expressed his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the excellent organization of the event. Noting that he had visited Azerbaijan 20 years ago, Klaus Schwab said the country had made great strides, while Baku has undergone profound change. "The fact that the forum is being held in Azerbaijan makes us all feel proud," Klaus Schwab said, noting that Azerbaijan had made great strides in the diversification of its economy, rational use of its natural resources, information and communications technology, finance and construction.

Expressing his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for close cooperation with the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab said the head of the Azerbaijani state was representing the country’s and the region’s economic potential at a high level by taking part in the annual Davos forum. Klaus Schwab stressed the importance of the Baku forum from this point of view.

Then a video describing the potential economic development of the South Caucasus and Central Asian regions was shown. Special attention in the video was paid to the successes and economic potential of Azerbaijan.

Then the voting took place to determine areas of discussion. The survey regarding the future of the region included three points – disunity, integration and polarization. During the voting participants of the event were unanimous on conducting a discussion on the topic of integration.

In remarks at the forum, President Ilham Aliyev indicated that he had taken part in the World Economic Forum seven times so far. Speaking about the socioeconomic development of Azerbaijan, the President of Azerbaijan said that although in the early years of independence Azerbaijan went through a period of serious crisis, in 1993 the country laid the foundation for a successful energy policy and was able to get out of a difficult situation. Major funds were invested in the country’s energy sector, then production of hydrocarbon resources and creation of a diversified transportation system began. At the present time, there are seven routes for the transportation of the country’s hydrocarbon resources to world markets. President Ilham Aliyev stressed that this very factor had a major impact on the rapid development of Azerbaijan, and provided specific figures. He noted that the focus in recent years has been on the development of education in the country. "We are converting the energy capital of the country into human capital, and education is of paramount importance in this issue", the head of state said. Recalling the successful launch of Azerbaijan’s first telecommunications satellite in February, the President said that Azerbaijan was already one of a handful of space-faring nations.

Noting that there was a healthy investment climate in Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev spoke about the major projects being implemented as part of successful cooperation projects, and touched upon the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and TANAP projects for the region.

President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan was successfully cooperating with the European Union in the field of energy. Speaking about the importance of establishing even closer integration between the countries of Central Asia and Azerbaijan in the future, the President expressed his hope that the Baku forum would help achieve significant results in this area.

Expressing his gratitude for the organization of the event at a high level, First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev said that cooperation among the regions of Central Asia and the South Caucasus was of great importance for the world. The first deputy prime minister spoke about the economic development of his country and the opportunities for regional cooperation.

Azerbaijan has achieved great successes in the past 10 years and the landscape of economic growth is fine, said the chairman of the Russian bank VTB, Andrey Kostin. He added that the policy of exporting Azerbaijani energy resources was being successfully implemented and noted the importance of further cooperation between the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Jomard Otorbaev thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the excellent organization of the event. "The development of Azerbaijan is truly impressive. A special role in this development belongs to President Ilham Aliyev," said the guest, adding that while in Baku he had talked to ordinary people and youth and witnessed their optimism. "We can be proud of fraternal Azerbaijan’s successes", the representative of Kyrgyzstan said, stressing the importance of cooperation for the development of the region.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Taner Yildiz also expressed his appreciation to President Ilham Aliyev for the excellent organization of the event and hospitality. "The forum has been organized at a level worthy of Azerbaijan", Taner Yildiz said and added that he believed in the success of the Baku meeting. He spoke about the measures being taken by his country to contribute to regional development.

Then discussions on the topic began. Answering questions, President Ilham Aliyev said that diversification of the Azerbaijani economy was a priority and spoke about the importance of the projects being implemented in the non-energy sector. The President then talked about the favorable investment environment in the country and a significant reduction of poverty and unemployment in Azerbaijan in recent years. He stressed that the strategic development program "Azerbaijan-2020" provides for the doubling of the gross domestic product in the next eight to nine years.

President Ilham Aliyev informed the forum participants that Azerbaijan, a country that was part of other empires for many years, has been pursuing an independent policy for 22 years.

Other speakers stressed the importance of Azerbaijan’s policy towards economic diversification and cooperation between the regions of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.