Azerbaijan managed to avoid the oil curse and transformed oil into development, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev told the Euronews TV channel.
He emphasized that the republic’s authorities reduced poverty and improved the standard of living of the population.
"We transformed oil into development. We managed to provide a fair distribution of wealth. We reduced poverty in Azerbaijan during the last 20 years from 50% to 5%. And all what you see here in Baku is absolutely new development of infrastructure and improvement of living conditions of the people," Ilham Aliyev said.
The head of state noted that the narrative now is that fossil fuel is something dangerous, and the countries having these resources must be blamed for that.
"My message was that judge us by what we do, how we treat it, how we use revenues in order to address the needs of the people and stimulate the green agenda. I hope my message will be heard," Ilham Aliyev said.
He stressed that the republic wants to invest in renewable energy sources.
"We see the implication and dangerous implication of the climate change. Less water in our rivers, less snow in our mountains, less water in the Caspian Sea. And if we don't address this issue with passion and with the commitment, then all of us will suffer," Ilham Aliyev said.
The head of the republic said that Azerbaijan plans to use renewables in the 10-year time at the maximum degree and reduce the consumption of natural gas domestically.
