Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the Austrian-Azerbaijani business forum

Dear President Fischer!

Dear Chairman Lajtl!

Distinguished friends!

I would like to express my gratitude to President Fischer again for giving me the opportunity to pay a visit to your country, to continue the active political dialogue and to meet with representatives of the business community.

Today we have had very fruitful meetings in which we discussed many issues, including the issues of economic cooperation. We have good results. I do hope that after this meeting our economic cooperation will become even more active.

From a geographical point of view we are not very close to each other. But I can say that the distance between Austria and Azerbaijan is not so great. In general, you can have breakfast in Baku, lunch in Vienna and dinner in Baku again - of course, if you use a plane. But the distance between our hearts is very short, as we have found real friends and partners in Austria. We stay in touch with them, work together, plan on our future projects and establish economic cooperation. We can cite many examples of a positive economic cooperation. We are very grateful to Mr. Kalina, who has developed the design of the new Azerbaijani manat. Our country has implemented a currency reform, and after the manats with a new design were released into circulation, the manat strengthened. Currently 1 manat is equal to 1 euro. Perhaps this has been influenced by our bilateral cooperation.

At present, a lot of Austrian companies are working in Azerbaijan and successfully implementing important projects for our country. I am talking about the projects covering extremely broad spheres. Today we have briefly discussed this topic and noted that it is easier to specify the few areas we do not work in than the many areas in which we collaborate.

Austrian companies are professional and skilled companies that have good taste. The architectural buildings they have designed and built in Azerbaijan are not ordinary buildings. These are the buildings everyone can see. For example, the new international airport or the Carpet Museum in Baku. The restoration and renovation of the Maiden Tower, the symbol of Azerbaijan, is also carried out by Austrian specialists. This is a sign of the highest level of trust between us, because the Maiden Tower has a great deal of sense for us. This is a true symbol of our identity, architecture and culture.

There are many areas of our cooperation. Austrian companies are building hotels, ski sites and recreational facilities, and are involved in various projects. We hope to see even more companies in our country in the coming years, as we have ambitious plans for the future.

Our state investment program is expanding. A total of $22 billion was invested in Azerbaijan last year. For the volume of direct foreign investment per capita we are the leading country in the former Soviet Union. The investment environment is very positive. We would like to see even more Austrian companies as investors and contractors. We can cooperate with these companies also on issues related to infrastructure projects, because Azerbaijan is a country that is rapidly modernizing now. The infrastructure and services are modernizing, and good management experience and expertise of our Austrian colleagues are very valuable to us.

With regard to economic indicators, our economy is more diversified now than ever before. We are successfully working to eliminate dependence on the energy sector. In the first quarter of 2013, GDP growth in the non-energy sector exceeded 11 per cent. Azerbaijan is among the countries that have the lowest foreign debt in relation to the gross domestic product - it is only 7 per cent. There is a stable financial system. The currency is stable. There are good investment opportunities and rapid growth of the economy. The past 10 years have seen an unprecedented growth. This is largely due to the energy sector.

But not only the energy sector. We have been able to triple our economy. This has helped us to mainly resolve the problems of unemployment and poverty we had faced before. Some 10 years ago, 50 per cent of our population lived in poverty, while now this indicator is only at 6 per cent. Unemployment is 5.2 per cent. Having created the State Oil Fund, we have achieved equitable distribution of the national wealth. By the way, this fund is one of the most transparent funds in the world and has now started to invest abroad.

We have been able to create a very transparent financial system in Azerbaijan. As far as our future plans are concerned, we will continue modernization. At present, we are implementing large infrastructure projects in all regions of Azerbaijan.

We will actively invest in new sectors of our economy. For example, I am talking about the sphere of information and communication technologies. In February of this year, we launched Azerbaijan’s first satellite Azerspace-1. It is already in orbit. Currently we are developing the space industry. In other words, we have turned our sights beyond the region and beyond the oil and gas sector. The impetus energy has given to our development has insured us from the "Dutch disease" which was previously projected by some analysts.

We are planning our economic strategy as if we have no oil and gas. This helps us to diversify and achieve sustainable development. With regard to energy cooperation, there are active and fruitful relations between Austrian and Azerbaijani companies.

We hope that these ties will become strategic in the coming years.

We have a very good mutual understanding. Earlier, the mutual understanding between the European Union and Azerbaijan was largely associated with energy. At present, it has assumed a broader scope, but energy cooperation was the bottom-line. Azerbaijan exports its oil to European markets. It plays an important part in the energy balance of some countries, i.e. it accounts for 30-40 per cent. As for the transportation of gas, if all goes according to our plans, Azerbaijani gas will be supplied to the European Union market in four to five years. And this will completely change the energy map of the region.

Our initiatives related to transportation projects, oil and gas pipelines serve regional cooperation, stability and predictability. I think we have found the right balance between the interests of producer, transit and consumer countries. Our energy policy and diplomacy are based on a cooperation format. We are absolutely confident that we can achieve our goals not through rivalry and unfair competition, but through cooperation.

The European Union considers Azerbaijan the main force of the Southern Gas Corridor, a contributor to it. I want to reiterate that we are proud to have started these projects in the Caspian Sea, to have opened Caspian energy resources to international cooperation for the first time. And now, along with our partners in Europe, including our Austrian friends, we are working on one of the most complex, important and promising energy projects in the world - the Southern Gas Corridor.

At the same time, I want to repeat that the priority for us and our government is the non-energy sector. I want to invite the Austrian companies that are not yet operating in Azerbaijan to come and cooperate with us. We have great plans. We have large investment programs for the future. Austrian companies have already become our reliable and trusted partners.

Professionalism, quality, taste, beauty and creativity. I think these are the criteria we have in mind when dealing with Austrian companies. They have a special place in Azerbaijan. The most difficult and important projects related to the symbols of Azerbaijan are implemented by Austrian specialists. We are very grateful for this support and for the efforts to modernize Azerbaijan. I do hope that this fruitful cooperation will be successfully continued. In particular, both Presidents have been encouraging the business community to get closer together for the second time in less than two years. Thank you very much.