Ambassador Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan and Mrs. Konul Teymurova hosted a reception at the Millennium Seoul Hilton on May 27, 2015 to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Azerbaijan.
The party was attended by many distinguished guests from Korean society and the international community as well as from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.
Among the Korean guests in attendance were Minister of Ocean and Fisheries Yoo Ki-june and representatives of government, business, social, cultural and other segments of society, including media representatives such as Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post, publisher of five Korean- and English-media units.
Speaking to the guests in a welcome address, Ambassador cited its celebration of 97th anniversary of establishment of the Republic of Azerbaijan, first amon the Muslim countries, the 1920 Paris Peace Conference, the outstanding achievements of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, and the attractive investment environment in Azerbaijan for the foreign direct investors (FDIs).
He said, “More than $180 billion have been invested in the Azerbaijani economy over the past 11 years, which attests to the fact that the Azerbaijan remains an attractive country for investors where the Government of Azerbaijan plays an utmost role.”
Then he noted that the investors benefit from Azerbaijan’s world-class features such as strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the richness of its natural resource, new chemical and IT industrial parks as well as the favorable incentives for potential investors.
“Therefore,” he said, “considering such excellent investment opportunities of Azerbaijan we expect that the Korean companies will lead the list of potential foreign investors in Azerbaijan.” (Excerpts from the speech at the end of this Article.)
There was also a photo exhibition where the exhibits showed various aspects of Azerbaijan, including the high-rise buildings and other outstanding achievements.
Excerpt s from the speech of Ambassador Teymurov:
It is my great pleasure to host such an honorable ceremony of 97th anniversary of the Republic Day of Azerbaijan and 23rd anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea. Please allow me to express my deep gratitude to all of you for accepting an invitation and participation at the reception.
These days Azerbaijani people throughout the World are celebrating the 97th anniversary of establishment of the first ever democratic republic in the Muslim East on May 28, 1918. It was a major and historic event. Because the people of Azerbaijan gained the independence and freedom they had dreamed for centuries. In a short period of time, the multi-party Azerbaijani parliament and the coalition government managed to take a number of important steps in the process of nation-building and the development of statehood. Women were granted the right to vote ? way before many democracies in the West, and the National Army was created. On January 11, 1920 the Paris Peace Conference, with the Treaty of Versailles, accorded de facto recognition of the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic collapsed in two years as a result of Red Army invasion and became a part of Soviet Union. Though first democratic republic lived for 18 months, Azerbaijan could make important accomplishments on state-building, armed forces, education, economy, and universal suffrage, from which it benefits today.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan regained its independence and successfully continued its statehood based on the finest democratic traditions. Unfortunately, in the early years of our independence, the country was dominated by chaos and crisis ? both economic and political. This situation resulted in a military crisis. Two years later our independence was practically called into question again. The economy had completely collapsed, industrial production had ceased, the country was in a state of paralysis, and the Armenian occupation and civil war were shaking up the foundations of Azerbaijan.
Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and its grave consequences on comprehensive development of Azerbaijan and the whole region. Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other adjacent regions of Azerbaijan have been under Armenian occupation for more than 20 years. As a result of Armenia’s policy of ethnic cleansing against the Azerbaijanis, more than a million people have become refugees and IDPs. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions demanding an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories. Unfortunately, Armenia keeps ignoring them and the conflict remains unresolved.
Thanks to the determination, courage, experience and outlook policies of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan managed to get out of that difficult situation and embark on a path of sustainable development. The national development strategy of Azerbaijan which launched by Heydar Aliyev is successfully continued by H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan and today, Azerbaijan is a politically stabilized state with a dynamic economy and strong foundations, and the role of Azerbaijan in the region has significantly been strengthened. Azerbaijan is a respected member and reliable partner of the international community. To give an example, in a very short period of independence, Azerbaijan managed to be elected to the United Nations Security Council which is the highest international body with the support of 155 countries.
Today, Azerbaijan plays an important role on reestablishment process of Historic Silk Road, with actively participating at regional transportation projects. In this specific area, Azerbaijan’s foreign policy agenda is fully matched with President Park’s Eurasia Initiative.
Azerbaijan is locating at the crossroads of civilizations, cultures and religions. We are situated just between Europe and Asia. Of course, this geographical location played its role in cultural diversity of Azerbaijan. For centuries, representatives of all cultures, religions, ethnicities have lived in Azerbaijan in peace, in dignity as one family. And we are very proud that during the years of independence these positive tendencies became even stronger.
In less than one month, Azerbaijan will host the first ever European Games along with the participation of more than 6000 athletes from Europe. The decision by the European Olympic Committees to organize the European Games for the first time in the world in a country with predominantly Muslim population could be a good sample for the multiculturalism and tolerance in Azerbaijan and we believe that these kind of events will serve to the promotion of the values of multiculturalism and creation of suitable circumstance for communication and dialogue among various civilizations and diversified cultures.
I would like to mention that Azerbaijan attaches special importance to the cooperation with the Republic of Korea - one of the most developed countries of the world in all the spheres within the frame of its active foreign policy. The diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea was established on March 23, 1992. For a short period of time, bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Korea have been established at the highest level powered by the opening of diplomatic missions and mutual visits of Presidents of both countries in 2006 and 2007 years.
Bilateral relations in economic, cultural, political, education, defense and other spheres between our countries are being accompanied by high level mutual visits during recent years. An official visit of Prime Minister of Korea to Azerbaijan in last November created new areas of opportunities where both countries will utilize their capabilities to promote our relations to the further levels.
More than $180 billion have been invested in the Azerbaijani economy over the past 11 years. This attests to the fact that the Azerbaijan remains an attractive country for investors where the Government of Azerbaijan plays an utmost role. It benefits from Azerbaijan’s world-class features such as strategic location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the richness of its natural resource, new chemical and IT industrial parks as well as the favorable incentives for potential investors. Therefore, considering the above mentioned investment opportunities of Azerbaijan we expect that the Korean companies will lead the list of potential foreign investors.
I avail myself this opportunity on the occasion of the 23rd Anniversary of Establishment of Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea to pay my heartfelt congratulations to the friendly Korean government, wish peace and prosperity to all Korean people.
I once more sincerely thank you for your attendance and would like to wish everlasting independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and Korea, and closer and stronger cooperation between our countries and nations.
Thank you very much.
Korean language version: http://www.koreapost.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=5776