(MENAFN- AzerNews) An event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of National Leader Heydar Aliyev was held by the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Azernews reports, citing Azertag that the event was attended by representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Saudi Arabia, including the ambassadors of Turkiye, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, local community representatives, Saudi businessmen and Azerbaijanis living in the Kingdom.

The participants of the event first got acquainted with the photo exhibition depicting various moments of the life and activities of the National Leader Heydar Aliyev.

Ambassador Shahin Abdullayev, who opened the event with an introductory speech, welcomed the guests and said that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Heydar Aliyev, the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, the world-famous political figure, in our country and beyond its borders. He emphasized that Heydar Aliyev, the founder of our independent state, is one of the greatest figures in the history of Azerbaijan and has rendered unparalleled services in the formation of the modern state of Azerbaijan and the development of our country.

Sh.Abdullayev noted that the period of progress and development of our republic began when National Leader Heydar Aliyev was first appointed as the head of Azerbaijan in 1969, Azerbaijan developed rapidly and became one of the leading republics in the Soviet Union in 1969-1982.

The ambassador brought to the attention of the event participants that Heydar Aliyev's return to power in 1993, at the request of the people, was the beginning of a qualitatively new stage in the history of our country. He said that thanks to the successful implementation of the foreign policy course based on national interests, which was founded by the National Leader, the international relations of Azerbaijan are developing rapidly, and the reputation of our country as an independent state in the world is growing. Sh.Abdullayev said that cooperation with the Arab-Islamic world was formulated by the Great Leader as one of the priority directions in Azerbaijan's foreign policy strategy.

Emphasizing that the outstanding services and progressive ideas of the National Leader are the basis of today's successes of Azerbaijan, Sh.Abdullayev said that with the signing of the "Contract of the Century" in September 1994, a fundamental change took place in the economy of Azerbaijan, the accelerated economic development and the reconstruction of the oil industry are the future development of our country. He said that he laid the foundation, that the implemented big projects gave impetus to the development of other fields as well, and as a result of all these successful policies, Azerbaijan has now become a leading state in the region.

Ambassador Muzaffar informed the guests that thanks to the determination of the Commander-in-Chief and the strength of the Azerbaijani Army, the territories occupied by Armenia were liberated during the 44-day Patriotic War and the territorial integrity of our country was restored. . Sh.Abdullayev spoke about Azerbaijan making important contributions to Europe's energy security and becoming a reliable partner of Europe.

Later, video materials dedicated to the National Leader, including a video depicting his official visit to Saudi Arabia in July 1994, were shown.

---

MENAFN07052023000195011045ID1106192255