Ilham Aliyev received members of the national team who participated in the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received members of the national team who participated in the 2nd Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China.

The head of state made a speech at the event.

President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Our national team has worthily represented the homeland at the Junior Summer Olympics and has returned home with a great victory. I heartily congratulate the athletes and their coaches on this victory and express our gratitude to them on behalf of the Azerbaijani state.

It is a truly great victory. Our team finished in 10th place, won 12 medals, including five gold. We are in sixth place among European and in first place among Muslim countries. If we consider that these games brought together more than 200 teams, everyone can see, of course, that this is really a great and historic victory. This victory makes me and I am sure all the people of Azerbaijan very happy because this is a victory of the Azerbaijani youth and the Azerbaijani state.

Sport events such as Olympic Games and Junior Olympic Games are all sporting competitions among countries. Each country strives to win the highest possible place in these competitions. The national team of Azerbaijan has proved that. Ahead of us are only traditional leaders of the world of sports. This being the case, our victory is even more important.

This is a historic victory, a huge victory. I congratulate the entire sporting community of Azerbaijan on the successful glorification of Azerbaijani sports. I am sure that our young athletes will continue to show good results and worthily represent Azerbaijan at the Olympics in the coming years.

Azerbaijan is a sporting nation. This is noted by leaders of the international Olympic movement. The state policy carried out in this area in recent years has contributed to the fact that Azerbaijan is known in the world as a sporting nation. Our country has great sporting successes. Each year our athletes win hundreds of medals at various international sports competitions. The European and world championships held in Azerbaijan widely promote sports in our country, attract children, teenagers and young people to sports clubs, thereby ensuring continuity. Our outstanding athletes worthily represent Azerbaijan. At the latest Olympic Games in London we achieved a historic victory. We won 10 medals, finished the team competition in 30th place and in 15th among European countries. Of course, this link between the generations should not be interrupted. As young athletes, you certainly want to become Olympic champions in the future, and there are excellent examples right in front of you.

In all the Olympic Games joined by the independent Azerbaijani state, we won increasingly higher places. This sequence, a sequence of wins continues, the continuity of generations is still being provided. This is a sign of the development of sports. Great attention is being paid to the development of youth sports. The development of sport in any country is determined precisely by youth sport. It is necessary to conduct proper selection work. Training, professionalism of coaches and, of course, a focused sports policy are the key conditions here. All of these factors – young talented athletes, professional coaches and proper coordination between the agencies in charge of sports – are available in Azerbaijan. This is not the case in all countries. Representatives of the International Olympic Committee always emphasize that the National Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, federations, sports associations and clubs operate systemically and as one team in Azerbaijan, and this is the main reason for our success.

Azerbaijan is developing comprehensively today, every area is developing, and the development of sport, of course, reflects the overall development of our country. There are all the conditions to do sports now. Wonderful sports facilities meeting the highest standards have been built and are still under construction in Baku. We can say that modern Olympic centers have been created in all our regions and the influx of athletes to these centers has been ensured. The creation of the sports infrastructure and our overall policy of promoting sports as an important factor in Azerbaijani society are yielding fruit. This being the case, we certainly have great expectations about the future and we are confident that our athletes will please us even more.

You, the young athletes, have achieved great successes in your sport careers. You have become Olympic champions in your early years. This is a huge win, but at the same time a tremendous responsibility. Of course, the athletes who have won gold, silver and bronze medals will receive more attention in society. There will be those who will want to follow your example. Therefore, you must build your professional career in sports so that always to be able to achieve good results and at the same time serve as an example in everyday life. The Azerbaijani youth is a source of our pride. I often meet with young people in Baku and the regions. I share my views with young people and note that we can be proud of the fact that the youth of the independent Azerbaijan is patriotic, attached to the country and contributes to the development of our country. In your future activity you should keep these issues in the spotlight and at the same time strive to enhance your professionalism.

There have been cases in Azerbaijan and other countries when a young athlete achieves a huge success. But then he leaves the sports arena – either because he cannot repeat the high result or because stops competing. There have been such cases, and not only in Azerbaijan. Therefore, this huge win should provide you with a new incentive, so that you could prove your strength in the future. All the possibilities for this are available, a state policy is conducted and all the agencies dealing with sports work efficiently. There are no problems with the organization of the training process.

Our athletes participate in all prestigious international competitions. In other words, the sports policy of the Azerbaijani state opens great opportunities for all young people. You have successfully used these opportunities in your early years.

So I think that we will hear more about your victories in the future.

Azerbaijan is preparing for a major sporting event. As you know, inaugural European Games will be held next year.

These Games have been entrusted to Azerbaijan. It is a tremendous responsibility and a great achievement of Azerbaijani sport because the decision to conduct the Games in Azerbaijan was based on a number of factors. First of all, Azerbaijan's development, the availability of the sports and service infrastructure, the creation of a modern transport system and the overall rate of economic growth were taken into account. At the same time, a role in this was played by the performance of our athletes. Such representative European games are conducted for the first time. How these games will go depends on us, because we will set the standards for European Games.

Our desire is to conduct these Games at the level of Summer Olympic Games. There are opportunities to do that. I have to note that by the number of athletes and sports these games are ahead of the winter Olympics and are very close to the Summer Olympic Games. In other words, Azerbaijan has been entrusted with a great and honorable mission. Within two and a half years we are supposed to conduct games at the level of Olympic Games. The process of preparation is under way. I am sure that our young people – with about a year still to go – should seek to join the national team. If this happens, then, of course, we will expect victories from you. If it does not happen, I am sure that you will still be involved in the preparations for these Games in one way or another. There are many organizational issues involved. These issues will enable Azerbaijan to assert itself again throughout Europe as a strong, growing and modern state.

Our athletes win first places at the games that require both intellectual and physical strength. The World Chess Olympiad has been held recently. Our team won a very high place. The same holds true for the Junior Olympic Games.

This demonstrates the intellectual and physical potential of young people in our country. At the same time it shows how much our young people love their country and feel proud of the motherland. They are proud to be citizens of an independent state of Azerbaijan. I congratulate you on this great victory again and wish you continued success and happiness. Thank you!

Х Х Х

President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Yes, I remember those days. Of course, it was a very important event in the development of sport. Azerbaijan has always been a place and a region noted for its athletes. We had great victories in the Soviet period too. Our world champions, Azerbaijani sportsmen competed well at the Olympic Games. But, of course, in the first years of our independence sport experienced a decline. Perhaps to a certain extent it was a natural process, as our country was in a very difficult situation as a whole. Our lands fell under occupation. At the same time, the economic situation was very difficult, a political crisis set in and civil war began. Of course, it was difficult to expect good results in these conditions.

Fortunately, in 1993 the Azerbaijani people made a very wise decision, appealed to national leader Heydar Aliyev and urged him to take political power, and in 1993 the developments in Azerbaijan started going in a positive direction. In particular, a lot was done for the development of sport. A unified concept was developed. Of course, my election in 1997 as President of the National Olympic Committee was a new challenge and a new responsibility to me. I was also a member of the Milli Majlis and Vice President of the State Oil Company. I had quite a lot of work and tremendous responsibility, because at that time I was seriously engaged in the preparation and implementation of oil contracts. As you know, underlying the successful development of Azerbaijan's economy today is our oil policy. Therefore, this position, of course, was very interesting and at the same time new to me. I have been doing sports since my early years. And I still do now. I would advise it to anyone. But I was not a professional athlete. But I thought that we must develop the Azerbaijani sport because there is great potential, the traditions of our people, our traditional sports. Besides, our people are very well prepared physically, are strong and patriotic.

First of all, there were issues of creating conditions for the athletes on the agenda. If there are no conditions, athletes will not be able to achieve good results, of course. And the conditions were not available. At the same time, some of our famous sportsmen left Azerbaijan for other countries because there were better conditions to do sport and material support there. We tried to bring them back home. In some cases we succeeded, in others it did not work. We started to set up sports facilities. At the same time, we developed a unified approach associated with the development of the sport because prior to that, I can tell you quite frankly, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, federations and the National Olympic Committee did not get along very well. As in some countries, there were opposition, strife and intrigues. In the first months, perhaps in the first year or two, I dealt with this issue in order to eliminate these negative phenomena. We all have one goal: to develop Azerbaijani sport in order to enable to Azerbaijan to assert itself as a strong state. Therefore, we tackled these issues – the training of young athletes and issues of selection. Some of our well-known coaches were abroad and we invited them. Other measures were also taken, and gradually we began to see the results.

A very good cooperation was established with international sports organizations. Azerbaijan started to host world championships. I remember conducting a junior world championship in boxing for the first time. Agajan Abiyev, our outstanding sports figure, made a huge effort. International tournaments were organized. Those were the first steps. We knew that if these steps were successful, then Azerbaijan could host European and world championships. And so it happened. Azerbaijan did host European and world championships in several sports. And now Azerbaijan will play host to the first European Games, essentially the Olympic Games of Europe.

Of course, the successes of our athletes and the victories of our young sportsmen make me very happy. As Chingiz noted here, you are young, you were born in the years of independence and your victory demonstrates the power of the Azerbaijani state. Look what the independent Azerbaijan is capable of! In Soviet times, we could only dream of such victories. If one or two of our athletes won a high place in a world championship, it became a holiday for us. And today, as an independent country, we are in 30th place among adults and in 10th place among juniors on a global scale. This is a tangible result. It shows that if work is organized properly in every area, if there is a right approach, a strong will and all relevant structures work in a concerted manner, the result will definitely come.

As I mentioned in my opening remarks, I want to hear the names of athletes who have achieved victories in these games more often in the future. You have to live with this thought, with this idea, so that to achieve even greater results in the future. I am sure that it will be the case. All the conditions are available. Today your victory inspires all of us and shows once again that the young independent state of Azerbaijan can achieve a great success, is doing and will be doing that. I congratulate you again!