THE DAY LASTS MORE THAN A MEMORY...

"I am proud to be an Azerbaijani!" is one of the famous statements of the prominent Azerbaijani, the founder of the most significant political, social and economic reforms and the chief ideologist of the largest projects. The leader, who restored the country from post-Soviet ruins, author of breakthrough decisions that will benefit many generations of Azerbaijani citizens. A man of iron will, great erudition, incredible memory. And a man with a touch of sadness in his eyes and a pain in his soul called "Garabagh" – Heydar Aliyev.

On May 10, 2023, the whole country celebrated the 100th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev. The culmination of celebrations were the events in Shusha—now free, restored, full of blooming xarıbülbül. The grandeur of the moment was best described by the First Vice President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva: "There, far away, in the sky blue, you hear the voice of Shusha and send us all your love and faith in us, faith in Azerbaijan. It is no accident that proud eagles soar over Cıdır-düzü today."

Foundation of independence and integrity

"The biggest dream of great leader Heydar Aliyev was to see Shusha, Garabagh and Zangezur free. We have fulfilled his dream and the dream of the entire people of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijanis all over the world", President Ilham Aliyev said in his address from Shusha on the 100th anniversary of Heydar Aliyev.

The First Garabagh War was in full swing, Armenian troops were advancing occupying the villages and districts of Azerbaijan with impunity, while the impoverished army had nothing to counter the enemy. Due to the poor socio-economic situation throughout the country, the population was on the brink of poverty, struggling for survival. Hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons could not be provided with food or shelter. Amid all this horror, criminality and separatism flourished, and armed militias prepared for civil war. It was indeed a terrible time of chaos and hopelessness, and there seemed to be no way to save the country from devastation.

This was the beginning of Azerbaijan's great and thorny road to territorial integrity, full economic independence, stability and regional leadership.

The first thing Heydar Aliyev did when he came to power was to achieve a ceasefire in the Garabagh conflict in order to start strengthening Azerbaijan - he was clearly aware then that without a strong economy, army and international position it would be impossible to return the lands, despite all the mediation efforts, peace talks, resolutions, laws, etc.

Gradually defending the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty over Garabagh—the original land of Azerbaijan—, Heydar Aliyev used all his power and means, his political weight in the international arena to revive Azerbaijan's economic power.

His greatest achievement was the development of a new oil strategy, which has become the cornerstone of the development of Azerbaijan's national economy. The crowning achievement of this strategy was the signing of the Contract of the Century on September 20, 1994. "The state of Azerbaijan has not invested a single manat in the implementation of the Contract of the Century. However, 75% of the profitable oil would go to Azerbaijan. Today we have thousands of Azerbaijani nationals trained in oil and gas operations at foreign companies. 90% of people involved in the implementation of the Contract of the Century are the citizens of Azerbaijan. That was our condition when signing the contract," President Ilham Aliyev said in his speech in Shusha, recalling the difficult conditions Azerbaijan had to negotiate with foreign investors.

The Contract of the Century was followed by the Shah Deniz gas condensate field contract (1996). It was the period when the whole world was focused on oil, and many 'experts' would discourage from rushing into the gas business. There was so much criticism, obstacles, intrigues. But Heydar Aliyev achieved his goal. More than 25 years later, we witness how right he was in all his decisions.

"Today, everyone sees how important the Azerbaijani gas is. Geopolitical importance of our country has increased significantly. Today we deliver the Azerbaijani gas to six countries. If all goes according to plan, the number of these countries will reach 10 within a year, covering a wider geography. This brings us economic profits, raises our political weight, and increases our influence," Ilham Aliyev said.

Initiator of reforms

The period of Heydar Aliyev's presidency (1993-2003) was marked by the strengthening of Azerbaijani statehood, establishment of political stability in the country and the beginning of reforms in all areas.

Despite the shortage of funds to implement the planned projects, Heydar Aliyev could revive various sectors of the national economy and has prudently created the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), which made it possible to multiply the oil revenues, preserving a certain part for future generations.

Thanks to his prudent policy, the funds generated from oil sales have been used to improve various social areas. As a result, in the last 20 years, Azerbaijan is the only country in the world that has developed so rapidly and tripled its gross domestic product (GDP). Today Azerbaijan's currency reserves reach $65b, external debt is just over $6b, which is less than 10% of GDP, whereas "in some countries, which occasionally try to teach us, it is 100%, or even more," I. Aliyev said.

Apparently, the objective of Aliyev's oil strategy was not only to realise Azerbaijan's economic prospects, but also to create a credible and durable political line to protect state security.

Without internal stability and a temporary ceasefire in the Garabagh conflict no major project could have been realised, as no company would have invested in a country at war. It is because of Heydar Aliyev's deliberate foreign policy that Armenia has long remained an economic castaway of the region, even after its seeming victory. What did it gain from the occupation apart from getting poorer every passing year, while Azerbaijan was getting richer and stronger?

Today, Azerbaijan is the heart of all regional projects, able to provide them with necessary funding and to implement them physically.

It was during Heydar Aliyev's rule that the foundations were laid for what is now called the Middle Corridor - Europe-Caucasus-Asia, which has turned Azerbaijan into one of Eurasia's transport hubs. This is also a step calculated for many years ahead, when the energy resources will run out, but reliable transport routes will always be in demand.

In addition, those years saw the start of important changes, such as radical institutional changes to replace the Soviet command economy with new free competition relations, targeted policy measures to create a market economic system, privatisation of state assets, new property relations and land reforms.

The government set a course to develop strategically important areas of the non-oil sector according to the capitalist principles of economy. Special attention was paid to the development of the farming sector, and the results of these initiatives have long been reflected in positive statistical data.

All of these factors have eventually contributed to solving most of the social problems. Thanks to Azerbaijan's financial resources and material situation, we can afford living on our own, depending on internal resources only. We are now reconstructing Garabagh and Zangezur thanks to our internal resources.

"No external force can influence Azerbaijan's will, because we have a strong will, we have a strong army and we have great opportunities", Ilham Aliyev said.

Strong army as a guarantor of victory

A strong army was the main objective of all economic reforms initiated by Heydar Aliyev. It was not an easy task, because it was necessary to start everything from scratch. And it was not just about the material and technical base. The spiritual decline among the Azerbaijani population in the early 1990s and defeatism considerably influenced the attitude toward the army, such as young people reluctant to join the army. So it was necessary to start ideological propaganda based on the values of patriotism and national values to breed a new generation of young people. Huge work has been accomplished among the young people and children. "Heydar Aliyev initiated the first Youth Forum in Azerbaijan back in 1996. Since then, the Youth Forum has been held regularly. It is those young people that grew during the last 20 years that liberated Garabagh and Zangezur," I. Aliyev said.

Heydar Aliyev also initiated important steps to preserve the Azerbaijani language, introduced the Solidarity Day of the World Azerbaijanis, organised the work with diasporas. Finally, all the nationalities living in Azerbaijan consolidated around the idea of Azerbaijanism, which put an end to all internal strife and separatism.

This laid the foundation for a regular army, which grew and strengthened every year, being equipped with modern technology and weapons, with young conscripts willing to die for the liberation of homeland.

"There is no Garabagh without Shusha, and there is no Azerbaijan without Garabagh," Heydar Aliyev said. This was his objective, his will, his dream.

"The victory in the Second Garabagh War is our historic success, a historic victory. This victory will live as long as Azerbaijan lives, in our hearts, in our memories, books and works. This is a heroic epic. This was an unprecedented heroism," said President Ilham Aliyev, who materialised the main dream of his father, Heydar Aliyev.

It is no coincidence that the first place he visited after reporting on the liberation of Shusha on November 8, 2020 was the tomb of the national leader.

...And said to himself: "The task is complete. Reported by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev!" Then I visited the Alley of Martyrs, bowed my head before the spirit of our martyrs and said to myself: 'Your have been revenged'."

As I. Aliyev noted, expressing respect for the great leader's memory, we must always be worthy of this victory, each of us, everywhere: "I am sure that today the soul of my father rejoiced, today the souls of all our ancestors rejoiced. We should do our best to rejoice in their souls always. And may the proud eagles always soar over Shusha..."

The article is submitted to the creative competition on the topic

"Heydar Aliyev's philosophy of economic policy and development"

announced by the Ministry of Economy among media representatives

in connection with the "Year of Heydar Aliyev".