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 Ali Ahmadov, deputy chairman and executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (NAP), said he hopes Azerbaijani people will vote for changes to Constitution on March 18 referring to date indicated in the draft decision on referendum day. “This initiative serves interests of both Azerbaijani people and statehood,” Ahmadov said at the meeting of the Milli Majlis (parliament) which discussed the changes proposed to the Constitution on Dec. 26. |
 On Dec. 26, the Bakinski Rabochi newspaper published an article by Ramiz Mehdiyev, academician, head-of-staff of the Azerbaijani President’s Administration, “Thinking of Time and Transforming the Elite: Succession and Innovativeness”. Given the large volume of the article, we offer readers extracts which may be interesting to the public. Ramiz Mehdiyev: “Any transformations are efficient if they serve to three factors – preservation of stability, strengthening of statehood, and common welfare”. |
 On Dec. 26, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to award Natig Aliyev, Tofig Asadullayev, Akif Ismayilov, Sadig Sadigov and Elchin Zeynalov title of Honored Master of Physical Training and Sport for their contributions to development of the Azerbaijani sport, AzerTag State News Agency reported |
 Under an agreement between Baku Metro and Russian Metrovagonmash, 36 metro railcars have been delivered to Azerbaijan this year. Metrovagonmash said in a press release that 14 locomotives and 22 middle cars were supplied to Baku Metro. |
 There will be no problems in water supply in Baku and surrounding areas during the holiday, said Azersu, Azerbaijan’s national water utility. The company said water supply to defaulting customers will also be restored on the holiday. Azergaz, a national gas distributor, also promised that there will be no problem in supply. Meanwhile, AzerEnerji, a national power supply company, said in a statement that citizens will not see any blackout even at peak hours during the holiday |
 The monitoring within the framework of the project “advocacy of relations between municipals and the public” conducted on 15 daily newspapers by the Public Association “Assistance in development of public relations” and financed by the Council on State Support to NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan has come to the end. |
 The parliament discussed the bill on education at the second reading. APA reports that Chairman of the Parliament’s Standing Commission on Science and Education Shamsaddin Hajiyev presented the bill. He said that the document had been seriously worked out. Education Minister Misir Mardanov said he supported the project. The minister said it was the framework law, and added that a number of other laws on education would be adopted after the adoption of the bill. |
 Azerbaijan’s Araz and Kur border rivers are being contaminated in the territory of Georgia and Armenia. “The section of the Kur river which runs through Georgia is contaminated. The mixture of phenol and copper combinations considerably exceeds acceptable norms,” according to the results of the monitoring conducted by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources in the second decade of December. |
 The commodity turnover between Azerbaijan and Ukraine increased by 50% totaling $1bln in 2008, according to the embassy of Ukraine in Baku. “Ukrainian and Azerbaijani businessmen are actively cooperating in trade and economy which led to the current level of trade turnover,” according to the press release. Ukraine is very important for Azerbaijan as exporter of a wide range of products to meet needs of population and industrial complex of the country. |
 The non-use of force must be the basic component in solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman Matthew Bryza, said. “It is obvious to me that no military solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict do exists”, Bryza, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, said in the interview for Mediamax. Both the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia do not desire new war, which will become tragedy for both sides |
 Secretary General of the International Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM Valeriy Chechelashvili met with Rector of the Kiev State University Leonid Gubersky. They discussed the issues of cooperation between the state universities within GUAM and agreed to hold meeting of four rectors to determine courses of future cooperation, APA reports. Chechelashvili invited Gubersky to the inauguration of the building GUAM Secretariat, which will be held in February. |
 The subcommittee created in the parliamentary assembly of the council of Europe (PACE) will study the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to avoid similar problems in the future. Subcommittee is formed to prevent conflicts in the territory of the states participating in the organization. The organization will study the activity of different international organizations in order to explain the possibility of joint activity in tackling of conflicts including Nagorno-Karabakh, David Wilshir, the head of the subcommittee and member of the UK Parliament, said to Trend News via e-mail from Strasburg. |
 2009 will be marked by new forms of dialogue on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the head of the CIS and Baltic Desk of the RIA Novosti news agency, Alan Kasaev. “It would be better if the settling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict involved all the countries that have interests in the Caucasus, that is, Iran, Turkey, USA and the EU,” Kasaev said at a briefing in Baku on Dec. 25. |
 The Government of Azerbaijan and the World Bank has signed an agreement on $300 million additional financing for Azerbaijan Highway 2 Project. The additional financing will complement the $200 million loan approved for the project in January 2006. The agreement was signed by Samir Sharifov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Finance, and Gregory Jedrzejczak, World Bank Country Manager for Azerbaijan. |
 First session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking countries will take place in Baku in September, 2009, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilich said at today’s press conference, APA reports. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Turkic-speaking countries was set up in Istanbul Assembly of chairmen of parliaments from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on November 21, 2008 |
 Turkey’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilich held a press conference resuming 2008. The ambassador called it very important year from the view of development of Turkey-Azerbaijan relationship, APA reports. The diplomat said the two countries had perfect political relations embodied ten meetings at the level of presidents and prime ministers and 30 ministerial visits this year. Speaking about the economic relations Kilich said trade turnover between the two countries reached 2.5 million dollars |
 Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia will meet early next year, Turkish ambassador to Azerbaijan Hulusi Kilich told the press conference, APA reports. The ambassador mentioned that the three ministers first met in New York on September 25 and said Turkey wanted soon solution to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, release of the occupied territories, therefore such meetings would be held frequently. |
 The world financial crisis will not create problems in the financing of pensions in Azerbaijan next year, said Salim Muslimov, Chairman of the State Social Protection Fund. According to him, the trends are expected to affect the social insurance receipts from extra-budgetary sector. “The Fund’s budget envisions 36.4% of social insurance receipts from extra-budgetary sector. |
 New Diaspora organization “Elmira” Azerbaijan-Spain Brotherhood Society was established in Valencia, Spain. State Committee on Work with Diasporas told APA that the organization had been registered by governor of Valencia. The presentation of the new society has been held. Along with the presentation our compatriots also marked December 31 – Solidarity Day of World Azerbaijanis. |
 The National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council (NTRBC) expected to review the issue of foreign radio stations on December 29 or 30, NTRBC Chairman Nushiravan Maharramli told APA. He said there was no special reason for postponing of the meeting planned for December 25 until early of the next week. “Some of the Council members caught flu and therefore we decided to postpone the meeting”. |
 OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) hope that there will be progress in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict next year. “We hope in 2009 we will see progress in this direction,” Dora Bakoyannis, new OSCE chairman and Greek foreign minister, said in her interview with Trend News. The OSCE chairman-in-office and Finnish foreign minister Alexander Stubb officially handed over office of the chairman to the Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis at the meeting of the OSCE foreign ministers held in Helsinki on Dec. 4. |
 Vice-speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament considers that it is impossible to prepare the draft regarding amendments and supplements to the law “On political parties” which will satisfy all political parties functioning in Azerbaijan. “The law must be drafted in a way complying with the position of each interested party”, - the deputy chairman of Milli Majlis Bahar Muradova told the journalists on Wednesday, TrendNews reports. |
 “Azerbaijan continues bilateral talks with Iran and Turkmenistan on division of the Caspian Sea,” Khalaf Khalafov, deputy foreign minister of Azerbaijan told press conference on 24th meeting of the special working group for development of Convention on level of deputy foreign ministers of the littoral Caspian states in Astana. |
 Azerenergy joint stock company put into exploitation Sangachal Modular Power Station with 300MW capacity near Baku on Dec. 24. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the station. The Finnish company Warstila was involved in the construction of the power station in Sangachal. The station consists of 18 units each with capacity of 17MW. |
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