BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 18. Diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy is our top priority, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said addressing the Azerbaijan-Lithuania business forum, Trend reports.
"I believe that Azerbaijan has created a favorable business environment for investors. We are pleased with direct foreign investment, which amounts to tens of billions. Diversification of the investment portfolio of foreign companies is also very important. Whereas in the early days of our investment programs investments were made mainly in the oil and gas sector, we are seeing foreign direct investment being made in the field of renewable energy now. At the beginning of this year, two major contracts were signed with investors for the construction of a 470 megawatt solar and wind power plant, which is an indicator of a favorable investment environment in the country.
In general, the diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy is our top priority. Of course, the energy sector has traditionally been the leading sector of our economy, and this will continue to be the case. In particular, we have completed the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor, which, for the first time since January 2021, has been transporting Azerbaijani gas to various locations, including the European Union – a system of integrated numerous pipelines with a length of 3,500 kilometers. Of course, the development of the oil sector, which is a traditional branch of our economy, continues to play an important part for achieving our national goals and for the energy security of a number of countries. At the same time, diversification is our main goal, because we understand that without diversification our plans to create a sustainable economy will not be materialized. We see good results there," the head of state said.