Baku: Global energy security, the 'green energy' transition, regional cooperation, and the economic model of the future are being discussed at 'Baku Energy Week.' This shows that Azerbaijan has already turned from a regional energy producer into an active participant in the global energy agenda.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, thirty years ago, when the Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition began, Azerbaijan was taking its first steps. Today, 'Baku Energy Week' is one of the world's leading energy platforms. It is no coincidence that an energy event that once mattered only for the region has today become one of the authoritative international platforms where global energy policy is discussed.
This development path reflects not only the growth of an exhibition, but also the historic transformation that Azerbaijan's energy strategy has undergone. As President Ilham Aliyev emphasized, the Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition laid the foundation for the energy development of modern Azerbaijan: 'As time passed, it transformed and became bigger, and now it is called Baku Energy Week, with numerous events and many very good ceremonies. As was correctly mentioned, the Shah Deniz contract, one of the biggest gas field contracts in the world, was signed almost exactly 30 years ago, in June 1996. And that actually opened a new chapter in Azerbaijan's modern gas development, providing energy security for a growing number of countries.'
Member of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship, Rovshan Muradov, believes that the messages given by President Ilham Aliyev at 'Baku Energy Week' show that Azerbaijan has turned its energy resources not only into a source of economic income, but also into one of the main tools of national development and geopolitical power.
The 'Contract of the Century' signed in 1994 became a turning point in Azerbaijan's modern history. In the following period, projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, TANAP, TAP, and the Southern Gas Corridor strengthened the country's place on the international energy map.
Rovshan Muradov noted that one of Azerbaijan's most important achievements over the past thirty years has been turning its rich energy resources into real state power. Although many countries have oil and gas resources, not every state manages to transform this potential into independent foreign policy, sustainable economic development, and international trust. Azerbaijan, however, successfully continued the energy strategy founded with the 'Contract of the Century' through globally significant projects.
The letters addressed to 'Baku Energy Week' by US President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer once again demonstrated that Azerbaijan is accepted as a reliable partner in the field of energy security.
In recent years, the concept of energy transition in global energy policy was sometimes presented as a complete refusal of oil and gas. On a number of international platforms, traditional energy producers became targets of criticism. However, the energy crises experienced in recent years showed that the world economy cannot function without oil and gas in the near future.
As the head of state also said, recent developments in the global energy market have revealed the importance of a more pragmatic approach. Maintaining a balance between energy security and the 'green transition' has already become one of the main topics on the international agenda.
Azerbaijan's energy policy is also built exactly on this principle. On the one hand, the country continues the development of the oil and gas sector and contributes to the energy security of partner countries, and on the other hand, invests billions of dollars in the development of renewable energy sources.
The main feature of the Azerbaijani model is the direction of energy revenues toward strategic goals. As President Ilham Aliyev emphasized, Azerbaijan directed the revenues obtained from energy resources to human capital, education, healthcare, infrastructure projects, and building a strong army.
To see more clearly the development path Azerbaijan has passed over the past thirty years, it is enough to compare the situation in the early 1990s with today's reality. The country, which once faced energy shortages, high poverty, and economic difficulties, has today become a state that exports energy, possesses large financial reserves, and participates in international investment projects.
Energy revenues also played an important role in strengthening Azerbaijan's defense potential. Economic opportunities were directed toward building a modern army, and as a result, Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity.
Azerbaijan's energy strategy is no longer limited only to oil and gas production. While preserving its advantages in the traditional energy field, the country is also entering a new stage in the direction of renewable energy. Today, 'green energy' has become one of the main directions of Azerbaijan's long-term development strategy.
Milli Majlis member Rovshan Muradov believes that the main feature distinguishing the current stage of Azerbaijan's energy policy is the parallel development of traditional energy resources and the 'green energy' strategy.
Today, Azerbaijani gas is not only the country's export product, but also one of the important elements of Eurasia's energy security. Currently, Azerbaijani gas is exported to 16 countries, and the geography of energy cooperation is expanding year by year. This shows the country's growing role and strategic importance in the global energy market.
Azerbaijan's geopolitical importance today is no longer measured only by energy projects. The new regional realities formed in recent years have also significantly strengthened the country's strategic position in the fields of transport, logistics, and trade. In this regard, the Zangezur corridor is considered one of the projects that can change not only Azerbaijan's but the entire region's economic and geopolitical map.
One of the main messages of President Ilham Aliyev's speech at 'Baku Energy Week' was that natural resources in themselves are not a guarantee of development. The main issue is how those resources are used, what purposes the revenues obtained are directed to, and how they are integrated into the state's long-term development strategy.
The country has directed the revenues obtained from energy resources not simply to improving economic indicators, but to forming strong state institutions, building modern infrastructure, developing human capital, strengthening defense capability, and reinforcing its international positions.
President Ilham Aliyev also explained the essence of Azerbaijan's development model in his speech, stating that the developments currently taking place on the global energy stage have emerged thanks to the policy of the US President. Countries should not be blamed for having oil and gas because oil and gas are commodities like any other. And every country uses what it has under its soil or on the seabed in order to develop.
These thoughts of the head of state reveal the main philosophy of Azerbaijan's energy strategy. At the center of this model is not the existence of resources, but their far-sighted management in accordance with national interests. That is precisely why Azerbaijan has been able to turn energy resources not into a source of economic dependence, but into one of the main pillars of sustainable development, political independence, and international prestige.
Today, Baku is not only a capital producing energy. Baku is an important international platform where global energy security, regional cooperation, the green transition process, and new geo-economic realities are discussed. The path Azerbaijan has passed over the past thirty years shows that properly managed natural resources can turn a country from simply an energy producer into an important geopolitical actor influencing international processes.