President outlines youth policy as one of Azerbaijan's top priorities

President Ilham Aliyev has said that the youth policy has always been among Azerbaijan's priorities.

He made the remarks during the Youth Forum dedicated to the 25h anniversary of the Day of Azerbaijani Youth on February 2.

“Twenty-five years ago, by the Order of great leader Heydar Aliyev, the Youth Day was established in Azerbaijan, and since then we have been celebrating this day on 2 February. A year earlier, the first Youth Forum had been organized in Azerbaijan on the initiative of Heydar Aliyev. Since then, youth policy has always been among the priorities of the state,” he said.

Noting that at that time, the country’s independence was only six years old and Azerbaijan was just beginning its independent life, the president recalled that the country was faced with major, serious and fundamental problems.

He recalled after the first Karabakh war there were high hopes that the international community and mediators would resolve the Karabakh issue and restore justice as soon as possible.

“There were such hopes, and the situation in all other areas was very difficult. You did not see those years, of course. But this is our history, and future generations must know and remember this history,” he said.

Recalling that at that time, Azerbaijan had not yet fully established itself on the world stage, he stated that Armenian lobbying organizations have been spreading false and distorted information about Azerbaijan.

“At that time, of course, one of the most important issues was to take a worthy place in the international arena,” he said.

Speaking about the economic situation, Aliyev noted that the concept of the economy did not exist at all at that time, as after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the principles of a market economy were not fully established in Azerbaijan and private entrepreneurship was at a very low level.

He stressed the signing of the Contract of the Century in 1994 gave the country great hopes.

“The signing of the contract for the Shah Deniz gas field in 1996 gave us additional hope, but when the Youth Day was established, 25 years ago, of course, no one could have predicted how much these projects would benefit our country,” he said.

Speaking about the picture of those days, he stated that hundreds of thousands of IDPs lived in difficult conditions and there was no regular army, which led to the defeat in the first Karabakh war.

“Under such circumstances, Heydar Aliyev established the Youth Day. … If we look at this small historical note, we can see how right Heydar Aliyev was. Because young people, making up a large part of our society, play a very important role in the life of our country today,” he said.

The president underlined that today, Azerbaijan is moving forward with confidence, as the main tasks facing the country have been resolved [the Karabakh issue].

He also noted that the opportunities for today’s youth are broader, and young people should take advantage of these opportunities.

“We live in a free country, we live in a stable country, we live in a confident country. we are rightly proud to be citizens of Azerbaijan, and young people must be active both in determining their future and giving maximum benefit to the state. By saying these words, I also want to say my heartfelt words of gratitude to the youth of Azerbaijan,” he said.