Today, Azerbaijan is doing everything necessary for economic development and the transition to a non-oil economic model, the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the Munich Security Conference, the head of the European bureau of Vestnik Kavkaza, Orhan Sattorov reports.
"We are working on this. We should not forget that Azerbaijan gained independence in difficult times, when poverty and stagnation reigned in the country. We have begun to use our energy resources in order to develop the country's economy. Three years after the restoration of our independence, in 1994, we invited the world's largest energy companies to invest in our fields, and it was the first time in history that the Caspian Sea became an area of interest of European and American companies. For us, energy security and energy policy has become a route to development, modernization, diversification and infrastructure investment, because profit from energy resources sales allows us to invest in infrastructure and to reduce dependence on oil. As a result of this policy of diversification, more than 70% of our GDP is income from the non-oil sector," the president reminded.
Ilham Aliyev declared that Azerbaijan is still dependent on oil prices and exports, 90% of which are from energy resources. However, at the present time the republic is conducting large-scale reforms, including privatization, diversification of the economy and improvement of the business climate in order to reduce this dependence. "The sharp fourfold drop in oil prices became an opportunity for us to invest more in technologies, in the modern economy. If we are able to carry out all our plans, I assure you that in 10 years Azerbaijan will finally stop depending on oil prices. Unfortunately, the post-oil period for Azerbaijan is starting when world oil prices are low, so we have to enter the world market as a country that exports not only oil and gas, but also other products," he stressed.
The President also pointed out the connection of Azerbaijani energy policy and European energy security. "Among other things we are implementing the 'Southern Gas Corridor' project, thanks to which thousands of additional jobs will be created. This project will allow Europe to diversify its energy security and stock up additional gas volumes," Ilham Aliyev noted.
"Azerbaijan adheres to such a policy that we should spend less than Europe. Investments in our projects, including energy projects, come from our own financial resources and sources of our partners. Therefore, we do not expect any additional significant support, considering that in recent years, Azerbaijan has accumulated substantial financial reserves. Even the sharp drop in oil prices did not affect our economic development much: in the past year, our GDP grew, and the growth of the non-oil sector amounted to more than 8%. This is due to our policy of diversification and investment in the non-oil sector and infrastructure," he pointed out.
