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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attends official ceremony of Crans Montana Forum opening

23 June 2011 15:14 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Crans Montana Forum has been opened in Brussels today. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva attended the Forumâ€™s session â€œAzerbaijan: the European Advanced Lighthouse toward the Orientâ€, APA reports with reference to AzerTAC news agency.

The head of state and his wife became familiarized with the exhibition, which displays detailed information about the rapid economic development processes in Azerbaijan. The exhibition informs the participants of the Forum about the development of energy, tourism, culture and infrastructure fields of Azerbaijan, as well as economic development dynamics in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.

In his keynote speech, Founder and President of Crans Montana Forum Jean-Paul Carteron welcomed President Ilham Aliyev and his wife Mehriban Aliyeva, other guests and informed the participants about Azerbaijan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Belgium Didier Reynders spoke about the economic development processes, energy achievements and investment environment in Azerbaijan. He reminded about the President Ilham Aliyevâ€™s contributions and called Azerbaijan as the Europeâ€™s gate to Asia.

EU Commissioner for Energy GÃ¼nter Oettinger also focused attention on the achievements of Azerbaijan in the energy sector. He said Europe attached great importance to the energy security and the achievements reached in oil and gas production strengthened Azerbaijan more and more. Commissioner also emphasized the importance of the joint declaration on energy cooperation signed during the visit of President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso to Baku.

Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha also congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on the achievements in oil and gas sector. Algerian Minister of Prospective Planning Abdelhamid Temmar and ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri also addressed the ceremony. ISESCO Director General spoke about the organizationâ€™s productive cooperation with Azerbaijan. He said by organizing events with the support of ISESCO, UNESCO and other international organizations, Azerbaijan proved its commitment to the cultural values. He underlined the activity of Azerbaijanâ€™s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and highly appreciated the projects in culture, science, education and other spheres realized by her as a goodwill ambassador.

Following this, Azerbaijanâ€™s President Ilham Aliyev made a speech at Crans Montana Forum. President of Forum Jean-Paul Carteron mentioned the merits of Heydar Aliyev and President Ilham Aliyev in the development of Azerbaijan, congratulated the head of state on the achievements of our country in terms of economic development.

Following this, the highest prize of the Forum PRIX DE LA FONDATION was presented to Ilham Aliyev. President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the award and pleasant words.
â€œOur target is to achieve peace in modern Azerbaijan,â€ said President and noted that Azerbaijanâ€™s strong position allows the country to pursue independent policy, Azerbaijanâ€™s position coincides with the positions of the partners in the significant global and regional projects.
â€œI regard this award as an award given to Azerbaijan,â€ he said.

Heads of state, ministers, entrepreneurs from various countries are attending the 22nd Crans Montana Forum. The Forum is an international organization founded by Crans Montana with the support of Swiss officials in 1986. The organization declared international cooperation and assistance to dialogue as its major goals. This yearâ€™s forum will end on June 25. Crans Montana Forum will be held in Baku in June next year.