Dear Forum participants,
I cordially welcome you to the First Azerbaijan International Investment Forum.
I express my confidence that this Forum, held in Azerbaijan for the first time, will become an important platform to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, build new partnership ties, discuss leading ideas and projects, and attract new investments to the country.
Since gaining its independence, Azerbaijan has been placing a special emphasis on collaboration with foreign investors and realizing projects with leading world companies that have great significance for both our country and the region.
Social and economic reforms implemented in Azerbaijan and its integration into the global economy have opened up wider and favorable opportunities for international businesses in our country. Indeed, this explains the investments in the amount of 344.4 billion USD put into our economy in the span of 2004-2024, with a considerable part, or 213.2 billion USD, directed into the non-oil sectors. This is a clear showcase of the confidence of foreign investors in Azerbaijan and the security and stability environment created in our country.
Currently, thousands of businesses with foreign capital are active in Azerbaijan. This is a considerable contribution to shaping a competitive and sustainable economy based on modern corporate governance in our country. This confidence we gained has made foreign companies reinvest their revenues into the national economy to this day.
The Azerbaijani economy sits on strong and fundamental bedrock. The Contract of the Century, signed on the initiative of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, has entered into history as a model of exemplary collaboration of global scale by laying down strong foundations to develop large transnational projects and logistical hubs running from Asia to Europe in subsequent years.
As the territorial integrity of our country was secured, Azerbaijan’s efforts helped to lay the basis for lasting peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region. For the time being, Azerbaijan already relies on economic diplomacy in its foreign policy to build new cooperative ties and further expand non-oil sectors, and the national tourism potential in particular.
Today, economic growth in Azerbaijan has transformed into a long-lasting stable trend. During the period of 2021-2024, the non-oil sector rose annually by an average of 6.7%, while its share in the national economy has reached 68%. Non-oil exports in the last six months have almost doubled. This explicitly shows the increasing competitiveness of our country.
All these achievements are supported by the creation of modern production infrastructure in the country: currently, we have 9 industrial parks and 4 industrial sites. These clusters register 171 enterprises, with 98 of them already starting production outputs. Over 6.9 billion manats are invested into industrial zones, with almost 11 thousand jobs created.
The private sector share in the economy has reached 81.4%, resulting from the application of innovative ideas, public-private partnership mechanisms, and implemented reforms. The continuous development of the economy has boosted the welfare of the population and broadened the financial capabilities of the country. The state budget revenues of 2025 have increased by 2.4 times compared to 2017, while the strategic foreign currency reserves have gone up by 1.9 times and the public foreign debt continued its downtrend by 6.5% in relation to GDP, turning into one of the lowest indicators on a world scale.
The favorable geographic location of Azerbaijan makes our country a strategic hub of regional economic policy. The transit volume of goods through the Middle Corridor is increasing each year. This indicator is expected to ramp up in the next years, in particular with the commissioning of the Zangezur Corridor. The modern infrastructure created in the country, including Baku International Trade Sea Port, Alat Free Economic Zone, and the modern railway network, offers all amenities to investors in terms of direct access to global markets and high transit efficiency. At the same time, special economic zones coupled with modern transportation and digital infrastructure offer ready-to-go platforms for production, logistics, renewable energy, digital services, and high-value-chain agriculture.
Our energy policy is playing an important role in fostering the international economic position of Azerbaijan. Currently, Azerbaijan is a strategic energy partner with several countries, both in fossil fuels and renewables. In addition to natural gas, solar and wind energy projects, the green energy zone in Karabakh and East Zangezur, including applied concepts of smart infrastructure, are turning our country into one of the leading participants in the global energy transition. Thus, Azerbaijan is fostering today’s energy security while also building the green economy of tomorrow.
The rule of law in the country, political stability, and protection of investments are playing the role of fundamental factors for our economic policies and create a climate of confidence for investors in the long term. Relying on its created infrastructure and legal assurances, Azerbaijan stands ready to support business projects and advance partnerships that bring technology, investments, and experience. At the same time, PPP mechanisms help investors connect to sustainable projects.
Our successes gained in the area of fossil fuels are now being complemented by the digital economy and technological transformations. Expansion of cloud technologies, development of digital data infrastructure, and incorporation of innovative solutions into the main sectors of the economy broaden the position of Azerbaijan to play a strategically central role in the areas of high tech and AI in the future.
Azerbaijan constantly supports projects offering creative initiatives and opportunities for business people to run more profitable activities. I believe that our partners, benefiting from such advantages presented by Azerbaijan, can greatly contribute to the sustainable development of our country, its technological progress, and the prosperity of the region as a whole.
The First Azerbaijan International Investment Forum, held today, marks the onset of a new stage of cooperation and investment attraction. Our main goal is to realize innovative business ideas and broaden favorable business opportunities. I invite you all to bring capital, technology, and ideas to Azerbaijan.
I am confident that the reflection of your ideas and initiatives in real projects in Azerbaijan will set a strong basis for successful cooperation and common welfare.
I wish every success to the work of the Forum and new beneficial partnerships to all participants.
Ilham Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Baku, 22 September 2025
