Delivering a speech at the opening session of the conference, SAM Director Farhad Mammadov said that the event has been dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s independence and representatives from various countries’ brain centers have been invited to it.

Deputy Head of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, chief of the administration`s foreign relations department Novruz Mammadov said that Azerbaijan has passed a glorious way in the past 25 years. “Azerbaijan has passed a rapid development path and today it introduces its development model to the world. Despite the crisis, Azerbaijan`s gross domestic product makes 75 percent of GDP in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan has been included to the list of “upper middle income country” by the World Bank.

Mammadov stressed that Azerbaijan is pursuing an independent, balanced foreign policy.

On the sidelines of the conference, a session “Azerbaijan at the global arena: Achievements and Challenges” moderated by Associate Director of SAM Gulshan Pashayeva, kicked off.

Deputy-Director General of the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Laszlo Vasa said that Azerbaijan is an attractive and important country for foreign investment: “Azerbaijan has great investment opportunities and SOCAR is the biggest player in the field of foreign investment. Azerbaijan should increase the exports of non-oil sector to reduce the dependence on the oil sector.”

Sergei Markov, director of the Russian Institute of Political Studies, stressed that Azerbaijan had passed amazing 25 years of independence. Russia is one of the first countries which recognized Azerbaijan`s independence and territorial integrity. Heydar Aliyev is the founder of modern Azerbaijan.

Neighboring state committed aggression against Azerbaijan when radical Popular Front was in power. Heydar Aliyev achieved peace and progress. Azerbaijani authorities won the overwhelming support of the people in last referendum. Oil and gas resources caused cash flows in the country and social problems were solved. We envy Azerbaijan,” he said.

Sergei Markov noted that only two of the CIS countries - Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan exceeded the figures in the Soviet period in terms of economic development. He said Azerbaijan is pursuing active foreign policy. “Today, we witness a global crisis. UK`s leaving the European Union, Donald Trump’s becoming Republicans’ candidate for presidential elections in the US show that people are against globalization. The reason of all these is that multinational forces directed production to other countries. People engaged in physical activity in the US are protesting. The second core of global crisis is the collapse of the West. Of course, the West won’t face a complete collapse, but a little. On the other hand, the US government claims that it’s the world government, but can`t handle the task. The social crisis in Syria, Libya and Iraq paved the way to the migration. Multiculturalism can not be refused. First of all, the independence of a country and its culture must be respected,” he added.

Director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the Azerbaijani president Farhad Mammadov noted that Azerbaijan`s foreign policy is based on mutual interests: “Thanks to multi-vector foreign policy, Azerbaijan established equal relations with many countries and protected itself from threats,” he stressed.

Jamestown Foundation President Glen Howard noted that Azerbaijan would always be an important country for the US.

More about: