His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of AzerbaijanYour Excellency,We would like to join the people of Azerbaijan in celebrating this 104th anniversary of the declaration of Independence, the National Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and to extend our congratulations to Your Excellency and to the First Vice-President, as we reflect on the enormous progress that Azerbaijan has accomplished in the past 30 years, despite obstacles and challenges world is facing.And in that context, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to you, Mr. President, for the commitment you have shown to the creation, growth and international outreach of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center (NGIC) and we believe that together we will continue to strengthen the NGIC and take it to ever more successful endeavors.We look forward to being in Baku again in June for the 9th Global Baku Forum, and hope to meet you again.Mr. President, please accept the assurances of our highest consideration.Sincerely, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of Latvia 1999-2007, Co-Chair, NGIC   Ismail Serageldin Vice-President, World Bank 1992-2000, Co-Chair, NGIC   Rosen Plevneliev President of Bulgaria 2012-2017   Amr Moussa Secretary General of the Arab League 2001-2011   Petar Stoyanov President of Bulgaria 1997-2002   Yves Leterme Prime Minister of Belgium 2008; 2009-2011   Zlatko Lagumdzija Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2001-2002   Eka Tkeshelashvili Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia 2010-2012   Kateryna Yushchenko First lady of Ukraine 2005-2010   Ivo Josipovic President of Croatia 2010-2015   Filip Vujanovic President of Montenegro 2003-2018   Boris Tadic President of Serbia 2004-2012   Rovshan Muradov Secretary General, NGIC