President Ilham Aliyev inaugurates new projects in Aghjabadi [UPDATE]

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has inaugurated several new projects in Aghjabadi, president’s official website reported on June 3.

First, Aliyev attended the opening of the "ASAN Service” center in Aghjabadi.

Presidential aide, Head of the Department for Work with Law Enforcement Bodies of the Presidential Administration Fuad Alasgarov and Chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of Azerbaijan Ulvi Mehdiyev informed Aliyev about the center.

The head of state launched the center. After viewing the center, President Ilham Aliyev met with the ASAN volunteers.

The head of state made a speech at the meeting.

- We are celebrating the opening of another "ASAN Həyat" Center. Congratulations on this occasion! Following my instructions, a modern and beautiful "ASAN Həyat" Center has been established in Aghjabadi district and is being commissioned today. The center makes a very pleasant impression. Both its appearance and the interior design are beautiful. And most importantly, a total of 320 service types will be provided to our citizens here. Eight hundred thousand people living in this region can take advantage of this opportunity.

The opening of yet another "ASAN xidmət" Center is a very significant event because we have increased the number of “ASAN xidmət” centers to 19 in a short period of time, and this process continues. The construction of eight more centers is envisaged at the present time. Some of them are practically ready and work is still underway in others. Thus, "ASAN xidmət" centers will cover our entire country. In fact, our plans were precisely that. When we came up with this initiative, I firmly decided that if this experience is positive, of which I had no doubt whatsoever, then it is necessary to create "ASAN xidmət" centers throughout the country and provide high-quality services to all our citizens. We are doing this work consistently. When inaugurating this center today, I saw that approximately 38 million requests have been received since the launch of "ASAN xidmət" centers. The work of “ASAN xidmət” is best illustrated in the fact that its popular approval rating is 99.4 percent. It is possible to say that our citizens are 100 percent satisfied with "ASAN xidmət" centers. And this is natural. In fact, our intention and desire has been to create excellent, convenient and transparent services for people. We have managed to achieve this.

"ASAN xidmət" is an intellectual product of our country today. I have already said this but I want to say it again: we are already exporting this intellectual product. Agreements have been signed with several countries on the establishment of our "ASAN xidmət" centers there. In some countries, these centers are already in operation. This is our national brand. The launch and the successful operation of "ASAN xidmət" is an excellent result of the policy pursued in this area. "ASAN xidmət" is an innovation. At the opening of each new center, I am familiarized with new innovative projects, including today. After that, the vast majority of these projects are implemented.

The activities of "ASAN xidmət" have given a powerful impetus to the development of innovations in Azerbaijan. I am glad that it is young people who introduce and make these innovations. Thus, revolutionary changes have occurred in the field of public services in our country in a short time. Perhaps 10 years ago no-one could have imagined that 320 services could be provided in one center. These services have a high innovation factor. At the same time, transparency is mandatory in these centers. In other words, one of the key features of "ASAN xidmət" is that it has been able to protect people from bribery and corruption in the field of public services. Public services were, one might say, one of the most corrupt areas. People spent weeks, sometimes months knocking on doors for a document that was supposed to be issued to them by law, asking officials for help and often having to pay a bribe. But for many years now, this practice has been completely eliminated in Azerbaijan. This also suggests that where there is a strong will, a sound policy and advanced execution mechanisms, there will always be a result.

As you know, "ASAN xidmət" was established on my initiative and expanded its activities based on my instructions. But "ASAN xidmət" was actually created by you, the youth – leaders, personnel and employees of "ASAN xidmət". We have created such a perfect system that we can be rightfully proud of it. We have provided convenience, justice and transparency to people. Therefore, "ASAN xidmət" is not just a service center. It is a demonstration of a completely new way of thinking, the application of a completely new philosophy in public relations. This is an initiative, a major project fully consistent with the modern development of our country. It has great public significance. Of course, "ASAN xidmət" has been raised to such a high level by the people working here, by their merits and deeds. After all, even the best project and initiative may fail if it is executed incorrectly.

I am very glad that the absolute majority, perhaps even all employees of "ASAN xidmət" centers are young people, including the volunteers working in all the centers. I am told that more than 200 employees and 45 volunteers will work in the "ASAN xidmət" center in Agjabadi. As a matter of fact, the volunteer movement in Azerbaijan began with "ASAN xidmət". Prior to this, there was no such movement in Azerbaijan. After "ASAN xidmət", volunteers began to work in other areas. Volunteers have also contributed a lot to the international sports competitions held in our country – the European Games and the Games of Islamic Solidarity. Without volunteers, we would not be able to host these major competitions. Today, on my instructions, volunteers work in other areas as well. I have issued instructions on attracting volunteers to work in state organizations, ministries and state companies so that they undergo hands-on training. After all, today's volunteers are the leaders of tomorrow. It is no coincidence that on my order this year has been declared a "Year of Volunteers". This once again reflects our attention and attitude to the activities of volunteers.

So by working in the "ASAN Həyat" and "ASAN xidmət" centers, young people provide a great help to their homeland. Of course, there is a high level of professionalism. In general, as I said, a completely new form of public relations is being applied in Azerbaijan, because earlier, in addition to corruption and bribery in the field of public services, I would say that rudeness and indifference were commonplace. At "ASAN xidmət" centers, everyone coming here is treated with respect, people’s problems are resolved promptly and in a transparent manner. Therefore, we can rightfully be proud that "ASAN xidmət" is the national brand of Azerbaijan. It is no coincidence that the UN has praised the work of "ASAN xidmət" centers and presented a special award to them. Of course, the promotion of this service on an international plane also plays a role in shaping the correct picture of our country.

We are open to cooperation. As I said, we have already done work with several countries to set up such centers there and have taken appropriate steps. At the next stage, both this year and next one, there are plans to open new centers in the regions and in the city of Baku. Currently, there are five centers in Baku but as far as I know, there is a high density of visitors in some centers, primarily because the number of services has increased. When "ASAN xidmət" started to operate, the number of services was about 100, if I am not mistaken, and today it has reached 320. Thus, the population and the number of requests have increased. Therefore, the decision was made to set up two more centers in Baku. At the same time, there are plans to open two centers in Sumgayit and Ganja each, as well as in other cities.

Considering that there are 10 "ASAN xidmət" buses in operation as well, I think that we will cover all regions of our country and provide excellent services to our people in the next two to three years. When each new center opens, I also see innovations, because "ASAN xidmət" is expanding its activities. A brand such as "ABAD" is already in operation. State support plays a special role in the development of family farms. Family farms operating in various parts of the country are already supplying their products to the market and are also starting to export them. This is also a major contribution to the overall economic development.

As you know, we are currently paying serious attention to the self-employment program. This year, at least 10,000 people will be involved in the program. Great support for the self-employment program is provided by small production sites created through "ABAD". I know that following my call, private companies also entered into agreements with "ABAD" and allocated funds so that work in this area could gain momentum.

This center will become a new center of services, leisure and entertainment for Aghjabadi district. There are two cinemas here. As far as I know, there is no other cinema in the city of Aghjabadi. There are opportunities for young people to spend their leisure here. The "ABAD" shopping center is also in operation. Therefore, this center will attract people. Aghjabadi youth is provided with jobs here. As I have already noted, more than 200 jobs have been created here and young people will work in them.

The creation of this center in Aghjabadi district is no coincidence. Aghjabadi is one of the largest districts of our country in terms of population. Aghjabadi is located on Karabakh land, and a lot has been done to develop the district in recent years. This is my seventh visit to Aghjabadi as president, and a lot of work has been done over the years. The infrastructure in Aghjabadi is fully updated. In previous years, there were problems with electricity. These issues are now being fixed. The new substation opening in Aghjabadi today will uninterruptedly supply the district with energy. The level of gasification in Aghjabadi exceeds 90 percent. Just a few years ago, people had completely forgot about the existence of gas. The city and villages had not gas supply. Today, gas supply exceeds 90 percent. New roads are built. My further order provide for the allocation of additional funds for the creation of a new road infrastructure. I am told that 60 percent of urban and rural roads of Aghjabadi district are being reconstructed. We have programs for the remaining 40 percent. This is enshrined in the state program on the socioeconomic development of the regions. We will improve all the roads.

A drinking water project is being completed. Today we will celebrate the supply of drinking water to the city of Aghjabadi. This is also a major project because drinking water has always been a major problem in Aghjabadi. This issue is about to be resolved as well. On my instruction, 115 sub-artesian wells have been drilled to provide irrigation water. Thirty more will be drilled because water is one of the main contributors to the development of agriculture.

A central district hospital has been built. This is one of the largest hospitals in the districts of our country. It is fitted with equipment that meets modern standards. The Olympic Sports Center, the Karabakh Muhgam Center, the "ASAN Həyat" complex – all this work has been done on my initiative and at the expense of the state. Major funds have been invested in infrastructure and social facilities of Aghjabadi district, in projects that are intended to resolve issues of concern to the people. This shows again that work should be carried out at this level, according to plan, consistently and with correct prioritization throughout our country. We did it. If infrastructure projects had not been implemented, other projects would have no meaning at all. We have laid this foundation. Therefore, economic development should go at a faster pace.

We have fully provided agriculture with machinery. The harvesting season started in Aghjabadi today. We have fully provided not only Aghjabadi district but also our entire country with grain and cotton harvesters, with harvesters manufactured by the most advanced companies in the world. Our villagers and farmers had not seen this before. They were barely able to repair the failed harvesters left over from the Soviet era and tried to service them. Those constantly broke and failed. For several years, there was no equipment at all. Therefore, the land remained unattended and was not cultivated. We resolved that too. This is a great foundation. Today, the entire infrastructure has been created. There is a supply of equipment. The ball is in the court of entrepreneurs now. Four large farms have been established in Aghjabadi. The peculiarity of grain growing farms is that their productivity is much higher than the average yield in the country, for cotton growing as well. In this way, we will achieve the development of the country and ensure diversification of the economy.

Of course, going back to the activities of "ASAN xidmət", I want to say once again that our modern approach is visible on the example of this service. We see and prove that we can not only fight corruption and bribery but also succeed in doing that. We use all means. Of course, I think that the key role here is played by systemic measures. We can see in the example of "ASAN xidmət" that this is possible. Therefore, by taking institutional measures of systemic nature we have narrowed the scope for corruption and the shadow economy. At the same time, administrative and punitive measures are and will continue to be taken. The people of Azerbaijan are updated about this. I can say that the thousands of letters addressed to me appreciate our fight against corruption and bribery. Our citizens approve of this, and we see that signals are already beginning to arrive from the ground. I want to repeat: public oversight is necessary. Each signal associated with bureaucratic arbitrariness will be investigated. Of course, these signals must be fair. Here, too, we cannot allow for any vilifying campaigns and spontaneous approaches. Each signal will be seriously examined, because it is possible that someone can throw up false information, someone may not like someone else, can write something about them – there is such a thing. Therefore, in the first place, justice and public oversight must be ensured. I am sure that we will get the upper hand in the fight against corruption and bribery. It is no coincidence that the World Health Organization, praising the work in the field of combating the pandemic, has described Azerbaijan as an exemplary country. Similar thoughts may have been voiced in relation to other countries, but I did not hear. As for Azerbaijan, the World Health Organization, the organization that manages the work in the entire healthcare sector on a global scale and coordinates this work, has described Azerbaijan as an exemplary country.

All this shows again that, first of all, Azerbaijan is a strong state, and secondly, that the people of Azerbaijan and their health are at the center of our policy. This proves that our measures are focused and effective, and these are timely and courageous steps. To protect the lives of people, we deliberately went into recession and economic losses. Billions of manats have been spent and are still being spent, despite the fact that the oil price has dropped. Health comes first. This indicates that in the most difficult and critical moments, we can take the right steps and show a strong will. I receive hundreds of letters of appreciation from people every day. Only a part of them is published. In these letters, people express their gratitude. For me, the highest assessment of the work done is the attitude of citizens towards it.

I want to warmly congratulate you on this wonderful event again. I want to wish you success in your activities. I am sure that you, "ASAN xidmət" employees and volunteers, will contribute to the overall development of our country with your hard work. Congratulations again! Thank you!

The president also attended a ceremony to launch drinking water supply and sewerage systems in the city of Aghjabadi.

Furthermore, he attended a ceremony to launch grain harvest in farmer Nizami Huseynov`s planting area in Hindarkh settlement of Aghjabadi region.

---