00:01Agri-business, transport and logistics, manufacturing, industrial zones, tourism, digital technology
00:08and renewable energy are all industries that are expanding in Azerbaijan.
00:12But how is the country redefining its economic profile?
00:16I'm Nadira Tudor and welcome to Business Horizons.
00:20On today's programme, we're looking at Azerbaijan's non-oil economy.
00:32Mr. Jalilov, welcome to Business Horizons.
00:36Thank you for having me. My pleasure.
00:37At a time of growing global uncertainty, investors are more cautious.
00:42So why now? Why Azerbaijan?
00:44In uncertain times, stability is not just a reassuring, but it is the competitive advantage.
00:51And Azerbaijan has a combination of this competitive advantage and a strong willingness of diversifying its economy.
01:00If an investor asked you about sectors within Azerbaijan, which ones would you recommend to them?
01:07Agri-food processing, green energy, pharmaceuticals industry, manufacturing and many others.
01:15Logistics and renewable energy is the most priority.
01:20Why are the non-oil economies so important for Azerbaijan?
01:26Diversification is very important because when your economy is depending on one source, it's very risky.
01:35How does Azerbaijan compare to Europe in terms of funding and other countries?
01:40ABDF is the one that's providing all the services, all the products in one window.
01:47So an entrepreneur or investor should not visit different places.
01:52He can find everything in one location.
01:55And that's really important, isn't it?
01:58It's very important.
01:59And actually, the main purpose of our presence is to make a sustainable company and then leave it in a
02:07few years and to keep them lead.
02:10Thank you, Mr. Jalilov, for joining us.
02:12Thank you very much, Nadir.
02:17Industrial zones like the Sumgate Chemical Industrial Park are driving non-oil growth.
02:22In the first half of 2025, product sales in the park exceeded approximately 572 million euros.
02:29Nearly 283 million euros came directly from exports.
02:33These products are now shipped to more than 70 countries worldwide under the made-in-Azerbaijan brand.
02:39Azerbaijan has launched a comprehensive digital transformation strategy called the Action Plan to Accelerating Digital Development for 2026 to 2028.
02:49Agriculture remains a cornerstone of the non-oil export market.
02:54Between January and July 2026, the combined export value of Azerbaijani agricultural and agro-industrial products surged by nearly 23%.
03:03The hospitality sector continues to diversify its global reach.
03:08In 2025, Azerbaijan welcomed international visitors from 189 countries.
03:14But diversification isn't measured by investment alone.
03:18Behind every new business, innovation centers and manufacturing facilities are the entrepreneurs, engineers and workers.
03:25We went on location to find out more.
03:38This project will contribute to reduce dependence on imported medicines and also creates highly qualified employment opportunities.
03:51Our close cooperation with leading local universities, it also increased the level of pharmaceutical education as well as scientific cooperation.
04:02But our primary goal is to make high-quality medicines accessible to our people.
04:09We have ambitious plans to expand our products portfolio to more than 500 SKUs over the next five years.
04:20And beyond that, we also want to see strong opportunities to export, particularly in regional markets such as Georgia, Kazakhstan
04:29and Uzbekistan.
04:30In long-term vision, we position Azerbaijan as a regional manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing hub.
04:44Economic transformation is about more than growth.
04:47It's about innovation, opportunity and building a more diverse and resilient future.
04:53That's all for this edition of Business Horizons.
04:55Thanks for watching.
