Message from H.E. Heydar Aliyev President, Republic of Azerbaijan

Having strengthened its independence, Azerbaijan is experiencing multi-faceted changes. Despite the military aggression of the Republic of Armenia, we have established internal stability, achieved a cease-fire and realized a program of large-scale and multi-faceted reforms in the country. These reforms foresee significant measures in our transition to a democratic, secular society with the rule of law and free market.

The policy of steady economic reforms has reversed the recession and insured continuous development in the economy. As a result of the progressive laws, liberalization, macroeconomic stability, suppressed inflation and large-scale privatization, the country's GDP has been increasing since 1996.

Privatization has played a significant role in the success of the initial economic reforms in the country. Following the state program, the process of privatization of small enterprises has finished, and as a result, more than 20,000 small enterprises have been privatized. Now, we have started the privatization of medium and large enterprises.

Azerbaijan has also been consistent in pursuit of its oil strategy. The first production sharing agreement on joint development of the Azeri, Chirag and deepwater Guneshli fields, signed on September 20, 1994 and later known as "The Contract of the Century," has launched a significant phase in revitalization of the Azerbaijani economy. Since then, we have signed 19 production sharing agreements with more than 30 major foreign oil companies, which will inject investments of some $60 billion into the oil sector and the infrastructure of the Azerbaijani economy. Since 1997, Azerbaijan has been exporting early oil developed with major Western companies to the world market through complementing routes. The negotiations around Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan major export pipeline have been successfully finalized, and construction of this pipeline will start soon.

Today, a favorable investment climate exists in Azerbaijan. It is encouraging that together with the oil sector, foreign investments are flowing into other sectors of the economy. Last year, approximately 60 percent of all foreign investment was made into the non-oil sector, which proves that we are pursuing the development of all facets of the economy. According to the volume of foreign investments per capita, Azerbaijan runs first among other CIS countries and second among the Eastern European and Baltic countries.

There are approximately 1300 foreign companies currently working in Azerbaijan. We have also decided to create a Foreign Investment Agency to increase the volume of foreign investments in the country; to create favorable conditions for the normal operation of foreign investors, and to provide an effective mechanism for addressing problems foreign investors may face.

We have been implementing free market reforms in close partnership with the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

As a result of these measures, Azerbaijan has become an attractive and profitable country for foreign investors. We have opened the doors to foreign investors, and I invite all investors to come and work in Azerbaijan.