Azerbaijan is a very unique country where the representatives all religions live very quietly and contribute to the country’s development, President Ilham Aliyev said.

He made the remarks during a meeting with a group of residents of Baku’s Nardaran settlement on Tuesday.

Ilham Aliyev said that the state and people of Azerbaijan are loyal to their national and religious traditions.

The head of state noted that in this sense, Azerbaijan’s role is highly appreciated by the Muslim world.

According to the president, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that unites the Muslim world welcomes the ongoing developments in Azerbaijan. The great appreciation given by the OIC to the religious processes in Azerbaijan is the biggest indicator, said the president.

Ilham Aliyev stressed that the OIC also supports Azerbaijan’s position regarding the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

What’s important is, according to the president, that to achieve the continuation of Azerbaijan’s successful development and the improvement of the living conditions of the people, and ensure public order and secure all the freedoms in the country.

“So we will further look to the future with confidence, hold our destiny in our own hands and pursue an independent policy. This is our greatest wealth,” he said.

The head of state emphasized that Azerbaijan has made great strides in the period of its 25-year-old independence.

He recalled that Azerbaijan has been part of other states for centuries.

“Azerbaijani people almost didn’t benefit from rich oil deposits in the Absheron peninsula. Despite the fact that Azerbaijan was producing half of the world`s oil in the 19th century, playing special role in the Soviet Union, we witnessed destroyed industry, infrastructure in poor condition, occupation of territories, chaos, anarchy, arbitrariness after the collapse of USSR,” Ilham Aliyev said.

“Today, our destiny is in our own hands and every Azerbaijani citizen should appreciate it. Each Azerbaijani citizen should try to further strengthen the country’s independence,” the president said, underlining that no one should act against state independence.

“Firstly it is a crime, furthermore it is unacceptable from a moral point of view. Today, there is no divergence in these issues. Every patriotic Azerbaijani citizen tends to make his/her state even stronger,” he concluded.

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