Business Opportunities Azerbaijan

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Business opportunities in Azerbaijan

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Azerbaijan, the largest and most populous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, is situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It borders the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. Azerbaijan is a secular and unitary republic with an ethnic Azeri and Shiite Muslim majority population.

Business and Economy

Azerbaijan is an economy with the State as a dominant force. It has substantial oil reserves and a significant agronomic potential. Thanks to the help of IMF, the country has managed to raise its GDP growth rate up to 10% since 2000. It reached 10.2% in 2004 and accelerated to 24.3% in 2004 mainly due to rise in global oil prices. However, the major challenges faced by the country are: a high inflation (estimated by IMF at 8.7% in 2006), high degree of poverty (nearly 45% of the population still lives below poverty line), and its over-dependence on oil sector.

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Industry and international trade

The agricultural sector contributes nearly 12% to the GDP. The main food-crops are wheat, barley, corn, wine grapes, and potatoes and the important industrial-crops are cotton, silk, and tobacco. Azerbaijan has 0.7% of the world oil reserves – hence this sector attracts heavy foreign investments. However, Azerbaijan wants to diversify its economy, that’s why it has started encouraging investments in other industrial sectors like machinery, chemical, cement, iron and steel, and textiles. The old craft of carpet weaving is still practiced. The services sector contributes nearly one-third to the GDP.

Petroleum products now account for 90% of the country's total exports. Azerbaijan's most important export partners are: Italy, France and Russia. The commodities mainly exported are mineral fuels, ships and boats, fruits and nuts, inorganic chemicals, and plastics. The country most important import partners are: Russia, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Azerbaijan mainly imports machinery, mineral fuels and oils, electrical & electronic equipment, vehicles, and metals.