(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 1. A lot has been
said and written about the role of personalities in world politics.
But today, amid the remaking of the world order, it is the
personality factor that has become one of the decisive aspects in
building relations between countries, in solving geopolitical
problems and preventing crises.
Azerbaijan is lucky: its leader, President Ilham Aliyev, is a
politician whose leadership and influence are emphasized by
European leaders.
Presidents and heads of state of various countries highlight the
outstanding personal qualities of President Ilham Aliyev, and
recognize that Azerbaijan is the benchmark of a reliable partner
precisely thanks to the policy of Azerbaijani president and his
leadership. They trust Azerbaijan because they trust President
Ilham Aliyev , and are eager to learn from him.
Speaking at an official dinner given in honor of President Ilham
Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva in Budapest on January 30,
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he needs to learn
from President Ilham Aliyev how to become more successful on the
international arena.
'I have learned so much from President Aliyev in the last ten
years in how to lead the country so well in a very complex
environment. Unfortunately, I couldn't learn everything he knows.
Because we are on the radical side, whereas he is a politician
known for his more moderate views. I need to learn from him how to
become more successful on the international arena in a moderate
way,' he said.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has also repeatedly expressed
his admiration for the skills of President Ilham Aliyev as head of
state.
On November 23, 2022, at a joint press conference with
Azerbaijani president in Belgrade, Vucic said that Serbia believe
in President Ilham Aliyev's word more than into any signature.
'Ilham Aliyev is the most popular man in Europe now,' said
Vucic. 'I am really happy to see how friend of mine, and a great
friend of Serbia succeeded and he didn't change. He is a man who
has always kept his country safe, respected his own country and
took care of his own country and interests of his own country.'
And before that, speaking at the commercial launch ceremony of
the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) in Sofia on October 1,
2022, Vucic noted that without the participation of President Ilham
Aliyev, it is unlikely that there could hope for the
diversification of gas and electricity supply.
'I must emphasize that without the participation of our friend
President Ilham Aliyev, it is unlikely that each of us could hope
for diversification of gas and electricity supply,' he said.
At the same event, President of the European Commission, Ursula
von der Leyen, noted that President Ilham Aliyev helped Europe at a
difficult moment.
'Thanks to such projects [such as IGB], Europe will have enough
gas for the winter. We worked very hard last month to achieve this
goal. The first step was to diversify away from Russian gas in
favor of other reliable suppliers. President Ilham Aliyev helped us
at a difficult moment, for this purpose I paid a visit to
Azerbaijan in July, and also visited Norway, the US, Algeria and
many other countries that helped us at this critical moment,' she
said.
The wise and far-sighted policy of President Ilham Aliyev helped
in fact to find a way out of the most difficult circumstances.
President Ilham Aliyev has become the first head of state to put
forward the idea of promoting coordination in the oil market
between OPEC and non-OPEC countries.
The late OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo once called
the idea of President Ilham Aliyev an innovative and far-sighted
proposal.
'At the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, His
Excellency President Ilham Aliyev initially proposed the idea of
advancing oil market coordination between OPEC and non-OPEC oil
producing countries to help address the severe downturn in the oil
market from 2014-2016. He was the first head of state to give his
backing to such an innovative and forward-looking proposal.
President Aliyev was ahead of the curve, and we returned to his
wisdom when 24 oil producing nations, including Azerbaijan, agreed
at the first OPEC non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on 10 December 2016
in Vienna, on a concerted effort to accelerate the stabilization of
the global oil market through voluntary production adjustments,'
Barkindo said.
Today, thanks to the multifaceted policy of President Ilham
Aliyev, Azerbaijan is not only a regional player, but also a
country that impacts solving of global problems. Azerbaijan is
looked up to, the country's voice is heard from the highest
tribunes. The growing influence of President Ilham Aliyev
strengthens the political power of the country and gathers
important allies and partners from around the world.