“Of course, the role of the economic factor is great in the comprehensive development of our country, in its achievements on a global scale, as well as in gaining the status of a leader in the region and in the rise of its international positions. The indicators of the successfully developing economy of Azerbaijan increased year by year, despite the severe crises occurring in the world, they were sustainable and served the well-being of our people. It goes without saying that the energy policy of our state has a great share in ensuring competitive economic development, and the author of this policy was Great Leader Heydar Aliyev. The oil strategy defined by our National Leader after coming to power for the second time at the insistence of the people aimed at a powerful, sustainable economic development Azerbaijan. Under his direct leadership, Azerbaijan achieved a historic success in this field and signed an Agreement on the joint development and production sharing of the “Azeri”, “Chirag” oil fields and a part of the “Gunashli” oil field located in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. Due to its political and global importance, 11 influential oil companies of the world from 7 countries participated in the signing of the agreement called “Contract of the Century”. This agreement, which caused a historical turn in Azerbaijan’s energy policy, brought great prestige to our country, helped to integrate it into the world, establish and develop interstate relations.
Sahib Mammadov, chairman of Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation (AHIK), expressed these views to mass media.
“As we know, at that time, Azerbaijan had gained independence only 3 years ago, and the threats to our country had not completely disappeared yet. There were also claims between the surrounding countries regarding the Caspian Sea. The signing of this agreement by the prestigious companies of the world in such an extremely difficult and risky period, investing in the oil sector of Azerbaijan was directly related to the personal reputation of Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, deep trust in his activities and wise leadership. They were sure that the great politician Heydar Aliyev’s signature is unchangeable, Azerbaijan will fulfill all its obligations on time and properly according to the terms of the agreement. By the way, until that time there was no such international agreement between the post-Soviet states with foreign oil companies, Azerbaijan was the first to do it. The subsequent course of events showed that the “Contract of the Century”, the first energy agreement of independent Azerbaijan, exceeded expectations, and our country became an actor with an important role in the energy security of the world. The effective implementation of the project increased the financial capabilities of our country, strengthened our economy, created conditions for the opening of jobs, the training of highly qualified specialists in the field, as well as the establishment and development of trade relations with other states,” the head of the Confederation noted.
According to him, the international community saw that Azerbaijan is the owner of its natural resources, resolutely protects its sovereign rights, and uses them effectively for the benefit of its people: “Later, our country signed more successful projects in this direction, oil production increased many times. Work has already begun on new routes for transportation to the world market. Because the Baku-Supsa and Baku-Novorossiysk pipelines were no longer able to carry the increased load. Therefore, our Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, the founder of Azerbaijan’s oil strategy, initiated the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) main export oil pipeline, and the foundation of the pipeline was laid in 2002. Today, the benefits of BTC cannot be overstated, in general, it has a great impact on the development of the region and relations between countries. In 2017, with the participation of our head of state, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, an amended and restated Agreement was signed on the joint development of the Azeri, Chirag fields and the deep-lying part of the Guneshli field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, and on the distribution of oil production. This was the next significant event in Azerbaijan’s oil history, and with this, our country entered a new stage of development in energy policy. ” The conditions stipulated in the “New Century Agreement” were more effective for our country and have many prospects.
“The energy policy of Azerbaijan, which was founded by the great leader Heydar Aliyev, was adapted to the new geopolitical and geoeconomic conditions by President Ilham Aliyev and further developed, and its opportunities were expanded many times. Today, our country, which has rich hydrocarbon reserves and developed fuel and energy infrastructure, has become the energy center of the region, fulfilling the mission of savior in the crisis in this field against the background of complex processes taking place in the world. The projects initiated by Azerbaijan shed light on Europe and contribute significantly to the energy supply of the old continent. Today, Azerbaijan is making a rapid transition to green energy based on the realities of the modern era and its own potential, and is even among the leading countries in this direction. We are sure that Azerbaijan, which is developing day by day and has a great voice in the world, will achieve all its goals in the near future under the leadership of our head of state, Mr. Ilham Aliyev,” said Sahib Mammadov, chairman of AHIK.