Azerbaijan's post-oil economy in spotlight
By Sabina Idayatova
Baku Futures Forum on Azerbaijani post-oil economy as a stride
toward a bright future opened on June 3.
Head of Political Analysis and Information Provision Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, Elnur Aslanov, said at the forum that despite the ancient traditions of statehood, Azerbaijan is a young country, and in the past two decades "we have managed to transform the country into a modern state".
"In recent years Azerbaijan has turned into a venue of global forums for discussing pressing international issues, including the World Economic Forum's Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the South Caucasus and Central Asia; Club de Madrid forum in the Caucasus, and, of course, the 2nd World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue," he said.
The Presidential Administration official believes that this achievement stems from the growing significance and role of the country in the region and the world.
"Azerbaijan is one of the unique places where different cultures and civilizations meet at the crossroads between the East and the West, the North and the South," he added.
According to Aslanov, Azerbaijan, a member of both Islamic and European organizations, embraces the values of both civilizations. "This enables us to assume the role of a center of geopolitical, geo-strategic and geo-economic importance in Eurasia," he said.
Aslanov said that besides rich culture, ancient history and traditions, Azerbaijan is widely known for its oil and natural gas.
"After we regained our independence in 1991, Azerbaijan pioneered development of the Caspian energy resources and their integration into European energy security infrastructures," he said.
Aslanov recalled that it was National Leader Heydar Aliyev who secured the largest single foreign investment in the former Soviet Union - an oil contract, which later became known as the "Contract of the Century", and thanks to him Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline became the most significant infrastructure project in the region, delivering oil from the Caspian Sea to the open ocean.
He noted that all these long-term projects, including Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, and Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), have great importance for ensuring Europe's energy security.
"Yet, unfortunately, unresolved conflicts represent a long-term challenge to our efforts to promote prosperity, security and stability in the whole Euro-Atlantic area," Aslanov said.
Further speaking about the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Aslanov stated that despite ongoing political efforts towards the earliest resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, activities in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan are in gross violation of international law.
"April of this year marked the 20th anniversary of the first UN Security Council resolution on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict - UNSC Resolution 822. But Armenia never complied with neither this nor with the ensuing three UNSC resolutions pertaining to the conflict. While the world is silent regarding this issue, Armenia uses their silent support to further consolidate the status-quo of occupation," he said.
Aslanov noted that Azerbaijan's strategy is aimed at the liberation of all the occupied territories, a return of the displaced population to their homes, and the establishment of long-lasting peace and stability in the entire South Caucasus.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Head of Azerbaijan Future Studies Society Reyhan Huseynova said that the Forum, which brought together world-famous scholars, is aimed at ensuring integration into the world economy.
Huseynova said the positive results of the forum will create suitable conditions for sustainable development and lead to specific results.
"Azerbaijan is a country of talents, tolerance. The forum will contribute to the strengthening of long-term relationships," she said, adding that one of the main tasks of the event is to develop the relations among scientists, NGOs and entrepreneurs.
Addressing the forum, Communications and Information Technologies Minister Ali Abbasov spoke about the growing Azerbaijani economy.
He stressed the country's significant economic growth in recent years through the development of hydrocarbon reserves.
According to Abbasov, Azerbaijan ranks the 19th in the world for its oil resources and the 29th for oil production and the whole world is aware of Azerbijan`s achievements.
However, Abbasov said, currently Azerbaijan aims to move forward its non-oil economy that will ensure future development. The private and agricultural sectors create a wide range of opportunities in this regard.
He went on to say that the Azerbaijani ICT income makes up 2 billion manats a year, and it is planned to boost the volume to 8.5-9 billion in 2020.
Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Huseyngulu Bagirov said that Azerbaijan has filled the ranks of the world's fastest growing countries.
Speaking about his ministry`s achievements over the past years, Bagirov said that the major success was the prevention of deforestation.
Director of the Millennium Project Jerome Glenn in his speech at the event spoke about the importance of the forum.