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Qabil Ashirov

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Azerbaijan is accelerating the digital overhaul of its public finance ecosystem through automated systems, artificial intelligence, and streamlined administrative procedures, Minister of Finance Sahil Babayev announced Thursday at a conference in Baku dedicated to the digital transformation of state finances.

Speaking at the event, the minister highlighted key milestones in modernizing governance, revealing that over 7,500 electronic contracts valued at more than 3 billion AZN ($1.76 billion) have been executed via the national e-contract platform since April 2026.

"This system creates a transparent and efficient environment for state entities," Babayev said, noting that contract processing and execution times have been reduced to a single business day. He added that the platform now integrates electronic bank guarantees—cutting approval times from 5–10 business days—while an electronic acceptance mechanism is currently in its final stages of deployment.

Central to these reforms is the transition to a modern digital treasury model. Processing times for treasury payments have already dropped from a minimum of five business days to an average of just 10 hours, with a target to reduce processing windows to two hours next year. By creating an interconnected digital chain spanning contracts, payments, and asset registration, the ministry expects to form a unified state budget system capable of digitizing up to 60 percent of state budget formation.

The ministry has also enhanced oversight of state-owned enterprises through a dedicated reporting portal. The platform has registered 1,113 entities and received over 11,000 reports, enabling the approval of 2026 budget reports for 950 state companies. As a result, more than 40 public enterprises are set to pay dividends to the state budget for the first time next year, generating an estimated 9 million AZN in revenue.

Looking to the future, Minister Babayev emphasized the integration of artificial intelligence into state financial oversight. By leveraging centralized databases, AI technologies will assist in advanced financial modeling, predictive analysis, and the automated detection of operational anomalies.

"The future belongs to states that succeed in digitalization," Babayev remarked, emphasizing that transparency, public engagement through civil councils, and capacity-building for civil servants remain core priorities of the reform agenda.