Speaking at a panel meeting held within the framework of the Second International Investment Forum, Minister of Finance Sahil Babayev disclosed important information about Azerbaijan's macro-fiscal indicators, future economic goals, and large-scale restoration work carried out in the liberated territories.
Modern.az reports that in his speech, the minister drew attention to the stable growth dynamics of the country's economy in recent years and the significant reduction in dependence on the oil sector.
The Minister of Finance stated that in the five-year period covering 2021–2025, the total growth of non-oil GDP in Azerbaijan exceeded 6 percent:
"If we look back 20 years, we will see that the main part of Azerbaijan's GDP was formed by the oil and gas sector. However, thanks to the diversification and fiscal reforms implemented, today the share of the non-oil economy in GDP is more than 70 percent. In just two years, we have managed to reduce the dependence of the state budget on oil revenues from 55 percent. We plan to reduce this indicator by another 10 percent in the next three years. Our goal is to reduce the share of oil in budget revenues to 30 percent by the end of 2027–2030, and to ensure 70 percent from the non-oil sector."
Sahil Babayev also brought to attention statistical indicators regarding Azerbaijan's foreign debt obligations and the volume of strategic reserves: State debt, total state debt constitutes approximately 17 percent of GDP, which is one of the lowest indicators in the world. Total foreign state debt is only around 6 percent of GDP. The country's strategic foreign exchange reserves are approximately 10 times more than the total foreign debt. For the last 5 years, a budget surplus of more than 3 percent of GDP has been consistently recorded.
The minister emphasized that these indicators and macroeconomic stability have ensured investment-grade ratings for Azerbaijan by international rating agencies such as "Fitch" and "Moody's".
"More than 15 billion dollars have been invested in the liberated territories."
Stating that 30 percent of the state budget is investment-oriented, Sahil Babayev spoke about the projects in the liberated territories:
"In the last 5 years, more than 15 billion dollars have been invested in Azerbaijan's Karabakh and East Zangazur regions. Urban planning, housing construction, and infrastructure projects are actively continuing. Our goal is to ensure the return of former IDPs to their ancestral lands and their dignified living there. In addition, more than 10 billion dollars have been invested in other regions of the country. In total, the investment portfolio in the last 5-6 years amounted to 25 billion dollars."
The minister added that in the next period, an additional 3 billion dollars are planned to be allocated to the tourism, agriculture, metallurgy, and digitalization sectors within the framework of state programs.
Touching upon Azerbaijan's cooperation with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), the minister noted that the joint portfolio with organizations such as the World Bank, EBRD, Asian Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank exceeded 16 billion dollars.
Sahil Babayev particularly emphasized that partnership with IFIs is of exceptional importance not only in terms of financial resources but also in terms of bringing advanced international experience, high technologies, and a strategic planning model to the country.
At the end of his speech, the Minister of Finance called on forum participants and foreign partners to actively participate in Azerbaijan's economic diversification policy and new investment projects.
