From the speech of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev at the meeting with the members of the Board and Political Council of the New Azerbaijan Party, Organizing Committee of the Party Convention, senior officials - 6 May, 2000


“...Ilham Aliyev is a young Azerbaijani citizen, involved in politics and public administration. He has a good education and knowledge. Last five-six years, he has been working here in Azerbaijan. He possesses a good work experience. He used to teach at the Institute of the International Relations, which is not an easy job. He was only 23 when he got his PhD degree at the Institute which trains diplomats. When he was dismissed from the Institute because of me, he was engaged in business and gained necessary experience. He has good knowledge in economy as well.

While working the first vice-president of the State Oil Company over the past years, he has been an active partaker and one of the decisive figures in the new oil policy of Azerbaijan. He leads foreign economic relations. It means that he has accumulated great experience in elaborating and implementing contracts in the delivery of the Azerbaijani oil to the world markets and integration processes...”