As we reported, on December 13, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev participated in the ceremony of launching the support block of the "Azeri-Central-Eastern" platform at the Heydar Aliyev Baku deep-sea plant.

Axar.az reports that President Ilham Aliyev presented the Order of Friendship to Gary Jones, Regional President of BP for Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, who participated in the ceremony.

President Ilham Aliyev: We have another important ceremony. Gary Jones was awarded the Order of Friendship about two and a half months ago. I believe that today is the best opportunity to present that order.

Gary Jones: Mr. President, this came as a surprise to me. Thank you very much.

President Ilham Aliyev: You really deserve it. This is because of your important contribution to the development of Azerbaijan's oil and gas industry, your friendship, and you're being a good resident of Azerbaijan. You are almost our citizen and you understand the basic needs of our people. I am pleased to reward you for visiting Shusha with us and for the work done by all your staff. The award was on September 19, but I was waiting for the opportunity and I think today is a great day. In front of this huge installation, I present this order to you.

Gary Jones: Thank you very much. It is a great honor for me. I express my gratitude to you personally and on behalf of the entire BP staff.