"I will further keep development of sports in focus of attention. Azerbaijan is known as a powerful state of sport. Our successes in the field of sport are great."

Axar.az reports citing to report news agency.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) Ilham Aliyev said attending the ceremony dedicated to the sports results of 2016.

The head of state said that it can be seen in the number of medals won in the Summer Olympics in recent years: "Our athletes enjoyed success in international competitions. 2016 year holds a special place in Azerbaijan's sport history. We won a historic victory in Rio Olympics. Over 200 countries took part in this competition. Azerbaijan ranked 18th for the number of medals. This is a great historic victory. It shows both power of our athletes and the state. Because sport is also improving in the developed powerful countries. We hold 7th place among the European countries and 14th for the number of medals world-wide. Also, we took 2nd place in the CIS and former Soviet Union area, 1st in the Muslim world. I'd like to congratulate our athletes, coaches, all the sports community on the occasion of the bright victory".