Ambassador: Azerbaijan has achieved major progress in all areas over past 30 years

"Women were granted the right to vote in Azerbaijan earlier than in many European countries."

Report's Balkan bureau informs that Azerbaijani Ambassador to Serbia Kamil Khasiyev said this during his speech at an official reception held in Belgrade on the occasion of May 28 – Independence Day.

The diplomat noted that the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, established in 1918, was the first secular and democratic parliamentary republic in the Turkic and Muslim East.

"The Republic declared democracy and equality of all citizens as one of its founding principles. The Declaration of Independence of 1918 stated that all citizens of the Republic had equal rights regardless of ethnic origin, religion, social status or gender. Various nationalities living in Azerbaijan were represented in parliament. Women were granted equal rights with men, including the right to vote. This was done earlier than in most European countries of that period," he said.

The ambassador noted that although the independence of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic ended in 1920 with the country's incorporation into the Soviet Union, it laid the foundation for modern Azerbaijani statehood.

"State independence was restored in 1991. Over the past thirty years, Azerbaijan has made great progress in all areas, building a democratic society based on respect for human rights and the rule of law and creating one of the world's fastest-growing market economies, which has led to the economic well-being of the Azerbaijani people and a qualitative improvement in living standards," he said.