Address of the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami At Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Late President Heydar Aliyev

Your Excellency and honorable colleague Ms. Sahiba Ali Ghizi Gafarova, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan,

Honorable participating colleagues, Speakers of legislative assemblies,

Esteemed colleagues,

I am immensely pleased to take up on the invitation of my dear colleague and honorable Ms. Sahiba Ali Ghizi Gafarova, the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to take part in the Extraordinary Session held by the National Assembly of brotherly Azerbaijan to honor and commemorate the anniversary of the founder of contemporary Azerbaijan, the late President Heydar Aliyev, may he rest in peace.

It is a pleasant tradition that the Parliament of your country holds this session to express the loyalty, recognition, and gratitude of the Azeri nation to a national figure whose name is linked to the contemporary history of your noble country, both during the period of building independence or during the establishment of the foundations for the multidimensional and multifaceted renaissance Azerbaijan is achieving, a renaissance whose echoes transcended the national borders and geopolitical space of Azerbaijan to reach all world regions and countries.

If the history of countries is, in various cases, linked to particular names that populations venerate and recall, then the renaissance of Azerbaijan is undoubtedly associated with the name of President Heydar Aliyev. As someone who follows events, I can attest that your country, thanks to its unity around its leadership and owing to the efforts, competences, vigilance, and wisdom of its elites, is today one of the striking examples of ascending renaissance, despite the challenging regional and international context. In this respect, you have managed to transform the capacities of your country into wealth that generates great added value. You have also arranged to utilize your country's sheer and diverse beauty as a means of attraction and soft power. You have as well managed to bundle your authentic, deep-rooted, and rich historical and social culture and modernism, as reflected in your compelling urban fabric, your organized cities combining simplicity and convenience, and the contemporary face of an Azerbaijan moving towards the future. It is a soft power that has been achieved in less than 30 years, hence rendering Azerbaijan, like its geographical positioning, one of the few countries that combine the charm, spirituality, and simplicity of the East, the beauty and purity of the Caucasus, and the requirements of modernity in terms of competitiveness, for it to effectively reflect its positioning as a space that connects and combines varied civilizations and cultures.

Azerbaijan, with its achievements, cultural diversity, the degree of awareness of its population, and its ability to innovate in the production and apportionment of wealth, thus enabling the emergence of a large middle class that carries modernity, and other factors, is a regional stability hub, and one of the countries that affirm that modernity and democracy are not in conflict with moderate and tolerant Islam.

Honorable Speaker,

In the Kingdom of Morocco, we share with this brotherly country the same approach of respecting pluralism and appreciating our deep-rooted cultural diversity based on long-standing history and civilization that contributed largely to the emanation of modernity and contemporary rationalism. We share with your country, just like with other brotherly and friendly countries present among us in this gathering, the same national, historical, political, and ethical responsibility in countering secession, protecting territorial integrity, and fiercely and tirelessly defending national sovereignty. We also share the same determination to achieve economic ascension and social cohesion under the Rule of Law, the State of institutions, and real pluralism, which is a piece of our identity and essence.

In the Moroccan case, our success story is associated with three glorious Kings: the hero of national liberation and the father of the nation, the late His Majesty King Mohammed V; the founder of modern Morocco and its united nation, the late His Majesty King Hassan II; and the leader of Morocco's present ascent, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God glorify him. My objective behind this statement is to note that we have much in common and share numerous matching horizons between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Honorable Speaker,

Esteemed colleagues,

Ladies and gentlemen,

One of the lessons that one can draw from the success story of Azerbaijan (the Land of Fire and Lights) is that Islam and traditions, on the one hand, and progress, on the other, can, in fact, go along. It is the same lesson that other success stories confirm in Eurasia, the Arab Gulf, and the Middle East, as well as in the Moroccan model.

Azerbaijan's success story is proof that diversity and difference, with respect for each country's peculiarities, contexts, and political traditions, are the levers for progress and evolution, as the pursuit of replicating specific cultural and political models and imposing them on the world most frequently generates deadlock and cultural schizophrenia.

To conclude, I am pleased to participate in this national event of Azerbaijan through which its National Assembly honors and remembers the name of a figure that adeptly made the long-standing history of this country.

   I congratulate you on your achievements and thank you for the hospitality and warm welcome.