Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the meeting with representatives of the general public in Sabirabad

I am glad to see you again. I have been to Sabirabad many times. This is my eighth trip as President. During these trips, we participated in the opening of many facilities together. And today, we are gathered for the opening of an excellent healthcare institution. I sincerely congratulate you on this occasion.

The Sabirabad central district hospital for 205 patients meets high standards both externally and from the point of view of internal conditions. It is a beautiful monument of architecture. The most advanced equipment of the world's leading companies is available here. All the conditions are available. All departments operate here, including the departments of surgery, dialysis, ER, and therapy. In other words, the hospital opening in Sabirabad will stand out at the global level.

This shows that there are excellent opportunities in all the regions of our country. This shows that Azerbaijan will continue to achieve great success in the social sphere. The construction of such hospitals, of course, requires major financial resources, and they are provided. The economy of Azerbaijan is developing, our financial situation is stable, the policy is socially oriented, and the development of the social sphere is our priority. Modern hospitals have been put into operation in all the regions of our country. I believe that in 2019 there will not be a single city in Azerbaijan without a modern medical institution. Next year, about six new central district hospitals will be opened in the country. In 2019, hospitals will be put into operation in the other cities of Azerbaijan, so the most advanced medical services will be available in all the cities of Azerbaijan.

The work carried out in the field of healthcare is yielding fruit. All our indicators are changing for the better: life expectancy is growing, the quality of life is improving, and maternal and infant mortality is reducing. All this is also assessed by international health organizations. Today, Azerbaijan is in one of the leading places in the world from the point of view of the health infrastructure. In parallel, Azerbaijan is the only country of the world where every citizen can undergo a free checkup at the expense of the state once a year. We started this project several years ago. Every year, more than five million Azerbaijani citizens are examined and informed about their health. This allows people the opportunity to identify the disease in time and receive the necessary treatment. More than five million people a year undergo free checkups at the expense of the state. The creation of such excellent medical institutions, of course, has given us the opportunity to put forward such an initiative. After all, if there were no such conditions, we would not have been able to carry out this program.

In short, in Baku and all the regions of Azerbaijan, the process of construction of health facilities is coming to an end. We started this work in 2004. At that time, we first established diagnostic centers, then central district hospitals and then specialized hospitals. Today, the material and technical infrastructure of the health system fully meets the latest standards.

Social issues in Sabirabad District were also in the spotlight in the old days. In recent years, about 30 schools have been built and renovated here. The Olympic Sports Center, the Youth Center and the “ASAN Xidmət” Center have been put into operation. Sabirabad is one of the first districts where an "ASAN Xidmət" center was established. So we are doing all this work for our people to live even better, enjoy even more advanced services, so that services related to health, education, sports were provided at a high level, and we are achieving this.

Infrastructure projects are also being implemented in Sabirabad District. I am told that gasification has already reached 90 per cent. I do hope that gas supply in Sabirabad will reach 100 per cent next year. Issues related to electricity have been resolved. Three years ago, we launched a drinking water project together. The construction of rural roads is well under way. Today I will attend the opening of two major projects. A project of new rural roads will be implemented next year. Thus, I believe that roads in most of the villages of Sabirabad District will be completely repaired next year. Four projects have been implemented so far. These projects benefit more than 100,000 people. The population of the district is approaching 180,000 people. The next project will also cover several thousand people, so we will resolve the issues related to rural roads.

I remember local people asking me about the construction of a bridge during one of my earlier visits. We did that on time, and I attended the opening. So we are doing everything necessary and even more for Sabirabad. New initiatives are being put forward. One of them was recently put forward by me. This initiative is connected with the creation of a large industrial estate in Sabirabad. Today I laid the foundation of this estate and am sure that Sabirabad will become a major industrial center in the near future.

The process of establishing industrial estates began several years ago. The first estate was established in Neftchala district, and we have recently inaugurated it. After this, work began on the creation of industrial estates in two other districts – Masalli and Hajigabul. The fourth industrial estate will be created in Sabirabad because the district has a large human potential and many experienced specialists.

The further development of Azerbaijan is associated with the development of agriculture and industry. Therefore, I was familiarized with a project of the Sabirabad industrial estate today. Taking this opportunity, I would like to urge the business people of Sabirabad to make proposals. All work in the industrial estate, including construction, the establishment of production sites, communications, infrastructure, electricity, gas, roads, and the opening of enterprises will be carried out using public funds. As for entrepreneurs, they should make proposals and purchase equipment. The government will help them in this, provide low-interest loans, issue investment promotion documents, and a large industrial estate will soon start to operate here.

Next year, there are plans to implement infrastructure projects related to the development of Sabirabad, in particular a new canal project. I know that this issue is of great concern to Sabirabad workers. This project was once started, but remained unfinished. I have issued an instruction, financial resources will be allocated, and the project will be fully completed next year. Therefore, there will be no problems associated with irrigation of at least 11,000 hectares of land.

This will mean the involvement of new crop areas. Workers, farmers and local executive authorities should see together what agricultural products should be cultivated here. Sabirabad has a great potential. Of course, there are traditional branches of agriculture, including cotton-growing. We began the restoration of cotton-growing specifically in Sabirabad. After a long break, the first meeting was held in Sabirabad. We have restored the traditions of great leader Heydar Aliyev. The first cotton field I was familiarized with belonged to Fatma. There was a wonderful meeting with workers there. Then a larger meeting was held. Thus, we managed to increase the procurement of cotton by eight times over the course of two years. Whereas only 35,000 tons of cotton were harvested in 2015, we have reached the level of 190,000 tons this year. We will procure about 200,000 tons of cotton, maybe ever more. Equipment is being purchased, fertilizer provided, irrigation carried out and funds allocated. The state took this industry under full control. Thus, of cotton-growing develops at a high pace, and this, as you know, also increases employment. I am told that 20,000 people work in cotton-growing now. They receive daily wages, earn money, bring benefit both to the state and themselves, and our country develops.

Therefore, we will do everything necessary in connection with irrigation both in Sabirabad and in all other regions in the coming years. Currently, all projects are being analyzed. This year, we set the goal of providing irrigation to 150,000 hectares of land that had not been irrigated before. We are approaching this goal. Next year the goal is to provide irrigation to at least 100,000 hectares. Look by how much productivity, jobs and the gross domestic product of our country will increase.

We have many plans. We must work hard next year. This year is being completed successfully although recent years have not been very easy for the country's economy. Naturally, the decline in the oil price, the financial and economic recession taking place in the world have also affected us. However, I believe that we have overcome this trial with dignity. We have not reduced any social programs. All of the identified issues have been resolved. We open hospitals even in crisis years. A major Olympic center was opened in Agjabadi today. In Terter, we have opened a settlement for 1170 IDP families. The settlement consists of 34 buildings. And all happens in just one day. I am not talking about roads and military units. A poultry farm will be opened as well. So just look at the work being done in one day. We take part in these ceremonies together. I am sure that 2018 will also be successful for our country and we will successfully complete it too. I congratulate you again!