The Republic of Azerbaijan celebrated its tenth independence anniversary last year. What major achievements have been made over that period?

First of all, I would like to point out that for ten years we have faced a long and difficult way for our independence. Except for the short period from 28 May 1918 to 28 April 1920 - 23 months of the period of the first Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, Azerbaijan was an independent state. We have recently celebrated ten years of our independence. When I was appointed the Ambassador I used to count months to find out if we manage to cross the point of 23 months destined for our independence. The situation in the country was not easy, military actions were enforced, economy was ruined, and we had lost all economic links with the former Soviet Union countries. We could not be present in the world market, because nobody knew about us and nobody was waiting for us. That is why there was some fear if we could hold out. But due to the trusted policy of President Heydar Aliyev, we managed to pass these "rocks" and we have not lost our courage. Azerbaijan gradually joined other democratic countries. We have joined UN, European Council, we are participating in all actions. Azerbaijan has also been consistent in pursuing its oil strategy; we mine 15 million tons of oil annually and it is a record figure for post war years. The favorable investment climate together with oil prospects has attracted foreign investments into other sectors of the economy. Approximately 60% of all foreign investment is 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.

One of the most important achievements of Azerbaijan on the way to market economy and democratization is the solution of land problem. Azerbaijan was the first country among CIS to introduce reforms into that area. The land was privatized and divided among the farmers. It is one of the major achievements. It was difficult at the beginning considering the lack of processing equipment but we obtained positive results. For example, we always imported grain and this problem was always urgent. But this year we practically did not have to. We had problems with fresh meat. We solved the problem on fresh meat and milk not speaking about melons and gourds. I think it is only beginning, and in two years from now there will be a raise of agriculture in our country. We developed wine growing; we gathered more than 2 million tons of vine and mainly cultivated industrial grade of vine for processing it into wine and cognac products. In the Soviet Union's time, the resolution to destroy all vineyards was taken. We were forced to uproot our vineyards. In order to restore wine growing we need a lot of investments. Vine sorts growing in Azerbaijan are unique.

Nagorno Karabakh is still our major issue. Armenians and Azerbaijanis always lived friendly and in harmony. People pursuing their selfish ends caused discord and now both Armenians and Azerbaijanis suffer. People used to live friendly in Nagorno Karabakh but then it came to fratricidal war. Many people lost their houses. Nowadays more than one million refugees huddle together in hovels. And it takes place for ten years.

How would you describe the investment climate in the Azerbaijan Republic? Which countries are among the biggest investors?

The first production sharing agreement (PSA) 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 revitalizing the Azerbaijani economy. Since then, we have signed more than 20 PSA with more than 30 major foreign oil companies, which injected investments of some $60 billion into the oil sector and the infrastructure of the Azerbaijani economy. Since 1997, Azerbaijan has been exporting oil developed with major Western companies to the world market through complementing routes.

There are approximately 1300 foreign companies currently working in Azerbaijan. The Foreign Investment Agency was created to increase the volume of foreign investments in the country, and to create favorable conditions for the normal operation of foreign investors.

Though we have a unique geographical location, the territory of the country is not big - 89 000 square kilometers. Our country is wonderful: 8 out of 11 world's climatic zones are located on Azerbaijan's territory. There are Alpine meadows, continental climate, and snow in the mountains in summer, as well as a subtropical zone where oranges and mandarins grow. There is the richest field of iron ore. Besides iron and sulfur, there are fields of zinc, copper, gold, tin, and platinum. These fields are located in beautiful zones of nature and if we had to further develop these resources now, nature shall suffer great loses, and this nature is unspeakable as to its beauty. Due to this fact the development was postponed till late term when safety ecologic technology shall be developed not to damage the eco-system. We think it will be a big gift to our future generations not to alter these fields. During the period of the Soviet Union the chemical industry was developed. Petrochemistry was expanded as to oil mining and oil processing. The enterprises of chemical industry are being developed nowadays in Sumgait. Investments are made and manufacturing of chemicals is being upgraded. Sumgait was the city of chemistry but applied out-of-date technologies were targeted only to obtain more products but no attention was paid to ecological factor. Sumgait was ecologically a dangerous city. For nearly six years, the chemical industry was not developed, and consequently the ecology improved; sea has cleared. Nowadays modern technologies are applied. We had developed cotton - growing but during the period of Soviet Union all cotton was exported to Russia. When our ties were lost, we started to develop a cotton-growing industry. There were good tea plantations in Azerbaijan. We have developed machinery building for oil sector. Practically 75% of total equipment for oil and chemical industry of the Soviet Union was manufactured in Azerbaijan. We are restoring machinery-building plants to produce equipment under world standards. The potential is enormous. Azerbaijan took one of the leading places as to qualification of its specialists in a field of oil and chemical industry. We do possess now such potential but it is not used in a full bulk.

Our president is a unique navigator who could lead our country through all obstacles and reefs. Within ten years dangers were waiting for us: from one side - military actions, from the other side - lag of economy. He managed to lead our country to straight, open road in such difficult and hard conditions.

What is your final message to our readers who are potential investors?

Our country is very warm. We have not only a warm climate but also a warm atmosphere, and our people are hearty, kind and very hospitable. People who come to Azerbaijan quickly adapt because there are many beauties in our country. Prospects are big. Baku is called "country of light". There was gas underground and it lighted when going out. This country is wonderful and interesting for tourism. Forests, mountains, sand as in desert and rich natural resources. Azerbaijan fruits are the best one in the world due to its quality and taste. We can assure our investors that they will never feel pity for their investments. They will win twice: materially and spiritually. We have opened the doors to foreign investors, and we invite all investors to come and work in Azerbaijan. Welcome to Azerbaijan!

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