Thirty years have passed since the signing of the “Contract of the Century”, which is the basis for the comprehensive development of independent Azerbaijan. On September 20, 1994, with the hard work and initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev, this agreement signed with the world’s largest energy companies laid the foundation for Azerbaijan’s successful oil strategy.
“Caspian” newspaper article on the subject.
The first and most important step.
To better imagine that the “Contract of the Century” plays an exceptional role in the destiny of our State and our people, it is enough to observe the processes that have taken place over the last 30 years.
The “Contract of the Century” was the first and most important step towards Azerbaijan’s name being recognized in the world, its acceptance as an independent state, its integration into the international community and its rightful place among the world’s states. Thanks to this agreement, Azerbaijan became one of the most reliable energy suppliers in the world. Its results were better than expected.
An agreement in which interests are skillfully reconciled
Today, Azerbaijan pursues a balanced foreign policy based on mutual interests in the international world. Recent events in the international world once again demonstrate how correct the known course is. The great leader Heydar Aliyev once again proved to the world that he was a great statesman and a political genius in Azerbaijan’s most difficult times 30 years ago. Occupation, more than a million refugees and internally displaced persons, severe lack of funds and strong pressures, claims on our Caspian energy fields from the north and south… All these were the realities of Azerbaijan in the early 90s of the last century. Against the background of these realities, negotiating with the world’s largest energy giants and convincing them to invest billions of dollars in Azerbaijan required great skill, iron political will and rich experience in the art of statecraft. However, the national leader managed to reconcile the interests of states located at different poles of the world, creating a balance between all parties and signing the “Contract of the Century”, which changed the future political situation of the South Caucasus. It was from this period that the foundations of a balanced foreign policy were laid, which ensured Azerbaijan’s successful integration into the international world.
Traces of the “Contract of the Century” in the implemented projects
The political independence of each state largely depends on its economic freedom, self-sufficiency and financial resources. The “Contract of the Century” gave Azerbaijan exactly this economic freedom. The foundations of the successful oil strategy laid by the Great Leader, President Ilham Aliyev Further expansion by Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum and later the implementation of megaprojects such as TANAP ensured Azerbaijan’s economic independence. It became a new and important source of income supporting the economic growth of the Azerbaijani state. It made a significant contribution to the new trade relations established by the country with the international world. It created one of the most modern oil and gas processing facilities in the world on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It stimulated the formation of a competitive local supply chain…
In the following years, oil capital was directed to other important areas of the economy and played a significant role in preparing Azerbaijan’s sustainable economic development strategy. There is a trace of the “Contract of the Century” in the achievements and projects implemented in each of the social, cultural, road transport, education, expansion of transit opportunities, construction, space industry and other fields.
The road to historic victory
Of course, the biggest opportunity created by this agreement for the Azerbaijani state was our historic victory in 2020, which resulted in the end of 30 years of occupation. As a result of the signing of the “Contract of the Century”, Azerbaijan’s position in the international world was strengthened and the process of building a professional army was started without delay. The most modern military equipment, professional officer corps, military personnel and local defense industry were created and provided to our Armed Forces. This path that began with the “Contract of the Century” ended with a historic victory under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. The occupation was ended, our sovereignty and territorial integrity were restored, and separatism in the country was eradicated.
A reliable partner
Today Azerbaijan is not only an oil supplier, but also a reliable supplier of gas to the world. Since the “Contract of the Century”, our country has been recognized as a reliable energy supplier to the world and a partner that keeps its signature and word to the end. As a logical result of this, Azerbaijan currently supplies blue fuel to 10 countries, seven of which are members of the European Union.
Azerbaijan is already a state that occupies its rightful place in the world, pursues an independent policy and has the main voice in our region. It is a country that successfully chaired the Non-Aligned Movement, was elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council and implemented megaprojects. There is no doubt that under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev we will reach greater heights on the path of development that began with the “Contract of the Century” signed by the great leader Heydar Aliyev.
