2003 was a choice, 2025 is a confirmation of the correctness of this choice

October 2003. Azerbaijan lived in anticipation. The country seemed to sense that October would be special. On the 15th, elections were held - tense, emotional, decisive. People stood at polling stations, speaking quietly. Ilham Aliyev's name was heard more and more often, but no one fully understood how exactly his journey would begin. The country was then on the edge of uncertainty. And he felt this better than others.

As reported by BAKU.WS, this is stated in a Caliber.Az article.

By the evening of October 15th, it became clear - the path would not be easy. Those who could not accept the will of the people tried to plunge the country into chaos. Groups appeared on the streets of Baku that wanted to destabilize the situation, take advantage of the moment, impose their own agenda. But then, in the autumn of 2003, Azerbaijan saw for the first time the inner strength of the young leader. Without unnecessary words, without panic, he kept the country from the abyss. Since then, it became clear: behind the external calmness stands character. Behind restraint - firmness. He had not yet taken office, but already showed that he was capable of leading - calmly, confidently, without unnecessary words. He showed that he would act not under the pressure of circumstances, but for the sake of the country. And then Azerbaijan understood: a new era was beginning.

The early years of Ilham Aliyev's presidency were a time of concentration. He didn't break the old, but step by step filled the system with new content. He understood: real change takes time. It's impossible to change a country in one year - but you can change the direction, building upon the best that was created by Heydar Aliyev during the formation years of modern Azerbaijan. The first reforms were cautious but precise. Everything was built on the principle: not faster, but more correct. He never rushed. His steps showed: haste in politics is a form of weakness. And he was right.

Azerbaijan began to grow. With each year it became more stable, more confident. The country turned into an energy center of the region, a bridge between East and West. Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan, Baku - Tbilisi - Erzurum, TANAP, TAP, Southern Gas Corridor - these words have long ceased to be just project names. These are lines through which the strategic power of Azerbaijan flows. A symbol that the country does not depend on foreign will.

Along with the economy, the army was strengthened. Not ceremonial, not showy - real. The President invested years in it, knowing that a moment would come when it would become not an instrument of threat, but a guarantor of justice. This moment came in the autumn of 2020. Azerbaijan returned its lands. The flag over Shusha became a moral symbol - proof that the power of truth and endurance is stronger than decades of occupation.

But perhaps the most important began after the war and the one