The work carried out to date has been the main prerequisite for future development, because without the work done, a stable economy and an independent financial and economic system, it would be difficult to talk about the future today, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said during his speech at an event on the theme “Rebuilding Trust in a Fragmented World: The South Caucasus as a Pillar of Global Connectivity and Investment Stability,” held as part of the 2nd Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku, APA reports.
“Therefore, we must build on this positive momentum. We must build on the fact that many leading international companies representing various sectors of the economy view Azerbaijan as a reliable partner and that a favorable investment climate has already been established in our country. Over the past 30 years, more than $360 billion has been invested in Azerbaijan. Half of this amount is foreign direct investment. Based on all this, we must move in line with the general trends of economic development and use our existing potential in sectors beyond oil and gas to ensure long-term and sustainable growth,” the President said.
“I would highlight several key priorities. One of them is renewable energy. We have enormous potential. The wind energy potential in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea alone amounts to 157 gigawatts. In addition, onshore solar and wind power plants are already operational. Our goal is to minimize natural gas consumption in electricity generation and direct the gas saved toward exports. Over the next five years, renewable energy projects will be everywhere. The second important driver of the economy is, of course, logistics and transportation. We have been working in this direction for a long time: building physical infrastructure, creating a more understandable business environment for investors and cooperating with neighboring countries. Because Azerbaijan is landlocked, we cannot do this solely within the country without our neighbors. Given the current political situation, in which some traditional supply chains are facing a crisis, this sector will become another important driver of the economy,” President Ilham Aliyev noted.
“This is a great opportunity for both local and foreign investment. Electricity generation capacity is also, of course, of great importance. We approach this issue from two directions. The first is how to make maximum use of this energy domestically, including for artificial intelligence and data centers. The second is how to export electricity. We have electricity transmission lines, but their capacity is insufficient. Therefore, we are currently working on building new transmission lines and expanding existing ones. This will also constitute an important part of future economic development. Another sector with great potential is the mining industry. A state program on the mining industry was adopted a few days ago. It is a short-term program covering four years and will generate significant activity in the sector. These are the main directions of our development,” President Ilham Aliyev emphasized.
“Of course, we should not forget the main issue that everyone knows about but that is sometimes not openly mentioned — oil and gas. Especially considering that numerous agreements have been signed this year and new agreements will also be signed today. Therefore, the oil and gas sector will maintain its dominant position in our economy and will continue to generate wealth that will be reinvested,” President Ilham Aliyev noted.
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