Speech of President Heydar Aliyev at the official reception organized by the Adam Smith Institute - London, November 29, 1995

Ladies and gentlemen!

We are taking part at the ceremony organized by the Adam Smith Institute in London, UK. It is a conference dedicated to the economy of Azerbaijan, developing the business there and attracting investments. I am glad that representatives of many countries are attending this conference. This shows the prestige of the Adam Smith Institute as an economic center and the interest to the economy of Azerbaijan.

I shall talk briefly, even though every toast takes an hour in the Caucasus. I shall not take your time. Today I met a lot of people. The ambassador of the South African Republic to Turkey and Azerbaijan told me that he had come to London in order to get acquainted with the Azerbaijani economy and inform his country about the perspectives of making investments in the Azerbaijani economy.

Some years ago very few people in Azerbaijan might know where the South African Republic is situated. Now Azerbaijan is an independent country. At the same time, the changes in the world have made the countries so close that the distance is not a big deal any more.

The hall of the conference was big enough. Now the number of the people here is more than the number of the participants at the conference. All have an interest to develop the economic relations. Azerbaijan wants to attract foreign investments.

The stars of the Azerbaijani art, including well-known pianist Farhad Badalbeyli, singers Fidan and Khuraman Gasimovas have come here, too. You saw only a small part of the Azerbaijani culture. When coming to Azerbaijan, you can see big economic potentials and rich culture of Azerbaijan.
 
Welcome to Azerbaijan.

You can come to Azerbaijan as a guest or make business.

I thank everybody, including the Adam Smith Institute and the company McDermott for organizing this conference. I have a great respect to Great Britain, which has a long history and contributions to the development of mankind.

Dear hosts, the traditions and history of your country are well-known. You help newly independent countries, such as Azerbaijan which develop their economies.

Cheers to peace and stability, to good relations among the nations, to effective cooperation, for friendship, to the development of the economy, to the United Kingdom, its people, to you, ladies and gentlemen!

The newspaper "Azerbaycan", December 2, 1995