Gabala, April 27, AZERTAC

On April 27, an Azerbaijan-Czechia business forum was held in Gabala with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš.

The President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic delivered speeches at the event.

The President of Azerbaijan made a speech first.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, dear guests.

We are very glad that, during the official visit of Prime Minister Babiš, a large business delegation from Czechia accompanies him. This is a very good sign of mutual interest in doing business together. Business communities usually make their decisions based on the profitability of projects, but at the same time, a lot depends on the legal framework and political dimension.

So I think today the leaders of Czechia and Azerbaijan are sending a very clear message to their business communities that it is time to engage actively in bilateral trade and investments, and to look into practical projects on how we can create synergy. The very solid political background, I think, is today’s high-level political contacts.

As was already mentioned today, we met with Prime Minister Babiš three months ago in Davos and now here in Gabala. So this really demonstrates that both sides are very interested in enhancing partnership in different areas. And today, along with many important issues on the political agenda, including the regional and global political agenda, we also spoke extensively about business opportunities and mutual investments. We touched upon concrete projects, and definitely, during the business forum, all these issues are being addressed.

Of course, apart from the legal framework, an important factor for any investor is the economic situation in the area of potential investments. I can inform the audience that Azerbaijan’s financial and economic situation is stable. For many years—already nine years—our currency has been stable. In fact, it has remained unchanged. One dollar is 1.7 manat since 2017. And I think this is an important indicator for any potential investor, local or foreign. During the last 20 years, 350 billion US dollars have been invested in Azerbaijan, and almost half of that has come from foreign partners. So a positive investment climate was, of course, the main target, because it is obvious that without investments no economy can develop, especially in the turbulent times of the international agenda.

We have managed to strengthen our financial system by reducing dependence on borrowing. We actually stopped major borrowing several years ago in order to bring down the foreign debt. And now we have started to borrow again because foreign debt is now only 6.1% of our GDP.

And there are many things to do with respect to infrastructure projects and the reconstruction of liberated areas of Garabagh and East Zangezur. So we have already started active engagement with leading financial institutions such as the World Bank, EBRD, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and others, so that we can create more dynamism in addressing important projects we are facing. With respect to international exposure, we can also report that Moody’s Rating Agency upgraded Azerbaijan’s credit rating to investment grade with a positive outlook, which I think is also a good signal to investors that Azerbaijan is a proper place to invest their money. And definitely political stability, social stability, safety, and security are all factors that every investor first takes into account when deciding whether to do business in a country or not.

With respect to prospects of bilateral cooperation, first I would like to say that we are very grateful to Prime Minister Babiš that he is paying his first visit outside the EU to Azerbaijan. We consider it a sign of friendship, a sign of respect, and also a demonstration that both countries need each other. We have already established good partnership in the energy field with uninterrupted oil supplies from Azerbaijan. And today we broadly discussed opportunities to begin cooperation in the area of natural gas and to look at it from a broader perspective, to engage in strategic cooperation in the energy sector, which could include oil, gas, refinery products, petrochemicals, fertilizers, electrical energy, AI, data centers, and all those areas where both countries are actively working bilaterally with great potential.

One of the areas which also already generates results is the defense industry. Czechia is very famous for its modern and efficient defense industry products. We have already signed several contracts with companies from Czechia and are now planning to increase the scope of activity and engage in joint manufacturing. While we are speaking, the teams are working on that. This is also a very important area for any country, especially in times when wars and conflicts emerge like mushrooms after the rain. Every country must be prepared to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the inviolability of its borders. From this point of view, I think we have established a very solid basis for cooperation in this area with huge potential for growth.

Among the important decisions we made today jointly with Mr. Prime Minister is to elevate the level of co-chairmanship of the Joint Economic Commission to the ministerial level, and to organize, hopefully this year—which would be very good—a session of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, which last convened three years ago. So many things are now in the pipeline. We need updates, we need exchange of information, and we also need to guide the business community and provide a better environment for them.

With respect to potential investments in Azerbaijan in priority areas for our country, first of course is industrial development and joint manufacturing. We also spoke extensively about the transport sector, where Czechia is very well known, to establish joint manufacturing in Azerbaijan with leading producers of transport infrastructure.

We in Azerbaijan are actively developing the renewable energy sector with huge potential. Our plan is to have 8 gigawatts of solar, wind, and hydropower by 2032. This is based not only on plans but also on already signed contracts. A lot of site works will be needed for that, and this could definitely be one of the areas.

Connectivity. Today we are heavily investing in the East-West transport corridor, which is needed more than ever due to disruptions in traditional supply chains, logistics, and transit problems. Azerbaijan is providing a safe and reliable transit route from East to West and vice versa, and even from North to South and South to North. We are situated at the crossroads of both corridors, and with large infrastructure investments in recent years, we have already created a major asset needed by many countries.

Tourism could also be an important area of partnership. Both countries are rich in history, culture, monuments, and nature. By the way, today’s meeting is taking place in one of the ancient parts not only of Azerbaijan but of the broader geography. Gabala was for many centuries the capital of the ancient state of Caucasian Albania, and today it is, I would say, the tourism capital of Azerbaijan. We also need to work on connections, people-to-people contacts, and airline connections, which we already have, but given our plans, we will likely need to expand them.

We also spoke about potential cooperation in air cargo transportation, where Azerbaijan already plays an important role in the region. Many other areas were also discussed, and although we cannot cover all issues in these remarks, I am sure that the business communities are gathering today with a very clear understanding of the potential for doing business in a friendly environment. I hope that representatives of business circles from Czechia and Azerbaijan will also become good friends, and that this friendship will start today and continue.

Once again, Mr. Prime Minister and dear guests, welcome to Azerbaijan.

x x x

Then, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic delivered a speech.

Speech by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš

- Dear Mr. President Aliyev, Minister Jabbarov, dear guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It's a great honor to be here in Gabala to launch this Czech-Azerbaijani business forum dedicated to strengthening ties and exploring new horizons with one of the most dynamic countries, Azerbaijan, the land of fire.

Azerbaijan is definitely for us, the Czech Republic, a strategic partner and that's why my first visit outside of the EU is here. We met Mr. President in Davos and we have agreed on this visit and I'm very happy and honored to be here. Also you have an invitation from us to welcome you in Prague.

And in the meantime, I think there is an idea to organize again this joint economic commission between our countries. From our side it will be led by Mr. Havlíček, the first Vice Prime Minister. And this commission, I think, should sit this year as soon as possible, as soon as we can progress in all these projects.

Energy - every European Council we are speaking about energy. And the Czech Republic has already sent four letters to all leaders, to the Commission, to the European Council. We have a problem with the Green Deal, which is supposed to be completely different than it is today, destroying European industry with this ETS-1 and ETS-2, which also damage the life of European citizens. And now we have, of course, this problem in Hormuz. And now Europe is discovering crude oil and gas. We came here also to speak about energy, because Azerbaijan is the biggest supplier of crude oil to the Czech Republic. It's 42% of supply, you are number one.

And we came here with ČEZ, which is the big distributor of gas, and of course we would be happy to discuss some long-term cooperation, long-term contracts, mutual investments. You are going to open new gas fields, and of course we are very much interested. So, we both know that we are reliable partners, and our cooperation is based on mutual respect and trust. And the turnover until now is 1.75 billion euro in 2025, and it's mainly because of supplies of crude oil, but there is a big potential for further diversification. And that's why I came here, Mr. President, with the delegation of 50 very important Czech companies, and I would like to introduce these specific companies, which are with us here today. We have brought together a curated group of specialists, who can offer a full spectrum of energy solutions, present here today ČEZ, Inco Engineering, Provico, TTC Marconi, ZPA Pečky, ZVVZ Engineering and ŽDAS.

Then also allow me to introduce the group of companies in the defense sector, and you know them already. The Czech Republic was in 1939 the biggest producer of military equipment and weapons in the world. And we are here represented already by Czechoslovak group, here has a joint venture, investment, Aero Vodochody with L-39NG, then CSG Aerospace, Česká Zbrojovka, Colt, Excalibur International, Explosia, VOP CZ, Omnipol and Livance SRO Meteopress - we have spoken about these projects. And all these companies offer a comprehensive range of products and integrated solutions tailored to your specific needs. And our delegation represents the very best in modern transport engineering. These firms provide everything from rolling stock and railway technology to advanced traffic management system and smart infrastructure. They are here to help build a transport network that is faster, safer and more sustainable. And of course we would be happy if ŠKODA Transportation, which is a member and ŠKODA group, one of very important and biggest economic groups in the Czech Republic, PPF, could be successful in this tender for the Baku metro. Also present here are AŽD Praha, CZ Loco, Daco and Tatra Export. All these companies presented very concrete project and I'm sure that if you do a business with us, you will be really satisfied.

And it's also a privilege to introduce our delegation of experts from the geology and mining sector, Česká geologická služba and Frýdlantské strojírny TR s.r.o., which are experts in water management and sustainability as well as MEGA, Chemoprojekt, and also experts from the field of finance: Czech Export Bank, Exportní garanční a pojišťovací společnost, JTH Holding, and experts in analytical technologies and laboratory network services.

While our discussion today is naturally focused on industry and economic growth, we believe that this partnership goes far deeper than technology and trade, and it is equally about culture, education and social responsibility. And in this context, let me welcome here also the company focusing on music, Petrof, which is of course a world-famous company. And furthermore we are proud to highlight a very important dimension: some of our participating organization and firms are deeply committed to social progress, especially focusing on the role of women in society and the professional world. With this in mind I'm happy to welcome FCEM, Czechoslovak Moravian Association of Women Entrepreneurs and Managers. These firms represent the pinnacle of the respective industries, combining decades of European tradition with cutting-edge innovations that define today’s global market. So the list of companies, there was a big interest and we could bring maybe with 100 companies, so Mr. President, we were obliged to make some selections, so it just demonstrates the interest of Czech companies in your beautiful country and in doing business with you.

So I now invite our companies maybe to present their proposals, and I think this forum today will definitely intensify and move forward our cooperation. This is really a very important moment for us because we are sure that our companies offer excellent products and services. We are ready to create joint ventures, to employ your people, to invest in the research and development, to cooperate with universities. There is huge potential in our country.

Thank you very much, so I'm looking forward to welcoming you in Prague and before that, I hope that our people will progress in all these projects and this turnover will be much bigger.

Thank you very much Mr. President.