The Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan has clarified the issue of the withdrawal of the latest rating assessment by the international rating agency “S&P Global Ratings” based on the request of the Azerbaijani government, APA-Economics reports.
Ministry stated that the Republic of Azerbaijan has been cooperating with international credit rating agencies since 2000 in order to facilitate access to international capital markets, regulate borrowing procedures, and further strengthen the confidence of international financial circles in Azerbaijan.
During this period, cooperation was carried out with three leading international rating agencies (“Fitch”, “S&P Global Ratings”, “Moody’s”), and the sovereign credit rating of Azerbaijan was assessed by the agencies both on a paid basis within the framework of an official contract and without contractual obligations (“unsolicited rating”).
In international practice, assessment by two of these three leading international rating agencies is a widely applied institutional practice. Based on this experience, over the past 5 years, Azerbaijan has assessed the country's sovereign credit rating through two agencies ("Fitch", "S&P Global Ratings") on a paid basis under an official contract, and with one agency ("Moody's") without contractual obligations, that is, without any payment by Azerbaijan.
During this period, against the background of the fundamental and continuous positive trends observed in the Azerbaijani economy, the country's credit rating has increased, and in 2024, Fitch Ratings and in 2025, Moody's Ratings increased the sovereign credit rating of our country to investment grade. Thus, the forecast for the next period for our sovereign rating, which was raised to "BBB-" and "Baa3" by the agencies, was also assessed as "stable" and "positive", respectively. Both rating agencies emphasized that Azerbaijan has a strong fiscal and external position, a significant increase in foreign currency assets, low public debt, and positive budget indicators ensure the economy's resilience to external shocks.
In accordance with the mentioned international experience in cooperation with rating agencies, it is planned to continue cooperation with only two agencies on a paid basis under an official contract in the next period. Taking into account the achieved successes and mutually beneficial, effective cooperation, the implementation of institutional cooperation on a paid basis within the framework of the contracts signed with the agencies “Fitch Ratings” and “Moody’s Ratings”.
Considering that the assessment of the two agencies is sufficient for access to international capital markets and regulation of borrowing procedures, it is planned to continue cooperation with the agency “S&P Global Ratings” beyond contractual obligations.
The Ministry of Finance will continue its cooperation with leading international rating agencies on the assessment of the sovereign credit rating of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the coming years and will take measures to reflect the fundamental and sustainable development observed in Azerbaijan in credit ratings.
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