"I am a happy mugham singer. I am a happy mugham singer, because the state has always cared about me, especially our national leader paid high attention to my art," said People's Artist of Azerbaijan Alibaba Mammadov on February 11 at the meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva and their daughter Leyla Aliyeva at the Heydar Aliyev Center.

The artist expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for awarding him with the "Sharaf" order: "I am happy, I consider myself happy, I have lived for 90 years, I have served our people for 70 years uninterruptedly. This is enough for me. However, accepting this order from Your hands today is a great honor for me. I once again cordially express my gratitude to You for what you have said about me. This is very big appreciation. Believe me, I am a talkative person, but I cannot talk in front of You. Today, you have spoken about all the aspects of my art. You have spoken as if a great musician has praised me. Long live. Thank you for respecting our national music, the artists of our people. Long live, long live, Mrs. Mehriban. I still think that Mrs. Mehriban coming to my house was a dream. Everybody says it, it has caused echo. Wherever I go, everybody talks about that meeting. God bless You. Our country is developing and getting more beautiful day by day. You create miracles. I am a Bakuvian, I grew up in Baku, but now, I cannot recognize today's Baku. I am indeed talking from my heart. I never lie, I never do bad to anybody. This is my ideal. I have never seen such big respect and will never see that. Thank you to both of you again. God bless you!"