THE WORLD HAS BROUGHT TECHNOLOGY TO BAKU

The recent intensification of the military confrontation in the Middle East, the fierce hostilities in Ukraine and finally the August provocations by the Armenian occupation forces in Nagornyy Karabakh have once again awakened an awareness  of the importance of strengthening Azerbaijan's defence sector. Having created the best technically equipped, and battle-ready army in the Southern Caucasus, for the ninth year now, the country has been shaping a high-capacity state-of-the-art military industrial complex. The achievements of Azerbaijan's defence enterprises were on general display at the first International Defence Industry Exhibition, ADEX-2014.

Wars between states or civil wars, tribal, religious and class conflicts over many centuries have brought mankind to a state of chaos and decline. In the periods of relative peace, the politicians and diplomats of the great powers have tried to somehow to resolve the fates of peoples, forming supranational institutions, including alliances, initialling conventions and agreements. But one factor of strength, theeconomic and military one, were always present in founding all inter-state relations everywhere. Alas, even today it is precisely these circumstances that dictate the order of states and peoples in the world with regard to the extent of their freedom of choice, rights to sovereignty or claims to be involved in global affairs.

The recent bloody events in Libya, Iraq, Syria and Palestine have clearly demonstrated the evidence of the pre-eminence of economic and military might over other components of international relations; this can be seen just as clearly from the clash of interests of the great powers in the civil confrontations in Ukraine.

The experience of Azerbaijan, which for more than 20 years now has been subjected to blatantmilitary aggression on the part of neighbouring Armenia is no less lamentable; Armenia has occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory, having destroyed hundreds of towns and villages and depriving more than a million Azerbaijanis of their homeland. In spite of four UN Security Council resolutions and the acknowledgement of Azerbaijan's sovereign rights to its own land by all the states in the world without exception, and also the many-year-long unproductive negotiations by the Minsk Group, no substantial progress towards a just resolution of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict has been observed. Moreover, almost every day servicemen are perishing along the line of confrontation, and from time to time the exchange of fire develops into a full-scale clash as it did in August this year. But even the recent events, which evoked a broad international reaction, have in no way forced Armenia to end its occupation of Azerbaijan's lands. 

In the circumstances that have taken shape Azerbaijan is left with no otherchoice than to apply maximum efforts in the future to consistently boost its defence capability. The most important component of military security, especially in non-bloc countries like Azerbaijan, is reliance on its own defence industry, ensuring that it is capable of supplying its national army with the main kinds of ammunition, as well as the latest types of armaments.

Azerbaijan's Ministry of the Defence Industry was set up nine years ago precisely for this purpose. With the efforts of the Defence Ministry, which got co-operation going with the military industrial complexes in 34 states, more than 20 industrial enterprises were upgraded and created from nothing in the country, so that 51 production complexes were set up. Today production of firearms, light and artillery weapons, drones, armoured vehicles, radio communications equipment, optical systems and a wide range of ammunition such as shells, aircraft bombs, missiles and so forth, is underway here.

You could see for yourself the successes of Azerbaijan's military industrial complex at ADEX-2014, the first International Defence Industry Exhibition in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus region, which took place on 11-13 September this year. "The new security challenges to states in the constantly changing world make co-operation in military technology and the exchange of cutting-edge defence technology extremely essential. Azerbaijan, whose lands have been subjected to occupation owing to foreign military aggression, is constantly focussing on boosting its security and deepening interstate collaboration. By consolidating its defence potential within the framework of the "Military Doctrine" adopted, our state is striving to co-operate and become partners with friendly states," the Supreme High Commander of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev, noted in his address to the participants in the exhibition, which was read out at the ADEX-2014 opening ceremony.

In the president's address it was particularly stressed that it was no accident that   the first armaments' exhibition in the South Caucasus had been held in the capital of independent Azerbaijan, the state with the greatest economic potential in the region. This step is a reflection of the high rates of economic development in the country, and the rapid modernisation of industry. The head of state also expressed the hope that the armaments exhibition, which was of a traditional type, would be expanded in stages, and the productive negotiations planned at that forum wouldmake their own contribution to further mutually beneficial co-operation, having played a special part in transforming the modern technology market into an arena for fair competition.

Judging by the outcome of the exhibition and the "Methods of Modern Warfare and Security Challenges" conference held at it, Azerbaijan has managed to get extremely productive international contacts going for the development of its own defence capabilities. "As a result of the fact that the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict has still not been resolved, a number of states are restricting sales of armaments to our republic; owing to this we will be getting co-operation going with more than thirty states as soon as possible for the transfer of technologies in the defence industry," Azerbaijan's deputy defence minister, Yahya Musayev, stated. Azerbaijan has set up military technology co-operation commissions with a number of countries, including Turkey.

We are trying to expand this co-operation, and this is the purpose of holding the ADEX-2014 exhibition. The deputy minister said that for Azerbaijan there was no alternative to setting up its own defence enterprises, first and foremost, because this means a tangible reduction in the country's dependence on the military and political influence of external forces. "The negative aspect of getting supplies of ammunition and military equipment from third countries is that in making purchases of technology, not everything is available. It is no secret that this leads to a one-sided dependence. Therefore, we are carrying out research, training specialists, in order to master the technologies needed for the national defence industry," Y. Musayev stressed. 

Judging by the number of participants and the standard of the defence enterprises exhibiting, the first ADEX-14 armaments exhibition was organised to a very high standard. Something like 200 companies from 34 countries came to Baku, including 37 defence enterprises in Turkey, 16 each from Israel and Poland, 10 from Belarus, as well as numerous companies from Russia's military industrial complex, from South Korea, Ukraine, France, the USA, Spain, the Netherlands, Croatia and so forth. Something like 20 official representatives of defence departments took part in the exhibition. They included government ministers from Turkey and Israel, deputy government ministers from Belarus, South Korea, Qatar and Malaysia, while Iran and a number of other countries were represented by the chiefs of the Defence Ministries' General Staff. 

The exhibits at the exhibition were divided up into six interest groups: ground forces, naval arms and equipment, aviation and aviation arms, anti-aircraft defence systems and means, special purpose equipment, communications and space technologies. The output of Azerbaijani enterprises occupied a special place at ADEX-2014. "The production capabilities of our defence industry are growing with every passing year; compared with 2005 the output of our ministry's enterprises had increased 28-fold in 2013. To achieve this, more than 1,700 machine tools, devices and apparatuses have been purchased and installed at enterprises supplying defence goods," Defence Industry Minister Yavar Camalov said in his speech at the opening of the exhibition.

 "Our enterprises have exhibited 168 designations of goods at the exhibition today: aircraft bombs, fire-arms and light weapons, weapons for armoured vehicles and so forth." As it masters the production of modern weapons, Azerbaijan will steadily increase the volume of its exports. By way of illustrating the capabilities of Azerbaijan's military industrial complex, over the last few years the Ministry of the Defence Industry has taken part in 15 international exhibitions. The head of the Defence Ministry noted that the ADEX-2014 international exhibition was also serving to promote security and co-operation in the region and he invited the participants in the conference to another similar exhibition to be held in Baku in 2016.

In his speech the minister particularly emphasised that Armenia's continuing occupation of a fifth of Azerbaijan's territory dictates the need for the country to consolidate its military might. "This task is successfully being carried out today by the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan, the strongest army in the Southern Caucasus," Y. Camalov stated.

AT FIRST HAND

"In our ever changing world states are facing new security challenges,which make co-operation in military technology and the exchange of cutting-edge defence technology all the more essential. The Republic of Azerbaijan, whose lands have been subjected to occupation and terrorism owing to foreign military aggression, is constantly focussing on boosting its security and deepening interstate collaboration, consolidating its defence potential within the framework of the "Military Doctrine" adopted; it is showing great interest inco-operating with all friendly states seeking partners, which share the common human principles of fairness,"

Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, he Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces