BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 25. A favorable
investment environment has been established in Azerbaijan.
Stability, successful reforms, a strong legislative framework and
other important factors have contributed to increasing the
country's investment attractiveness.
A favorable and sustainable environment for developing highly
competitive industrial production has been created in the
industrial zones operating in the country. To this end, residents
can operate in areas fully equipped by the government with the
necessary engineering and utility infrastructure, including
electricity, gas, water, roads, communications and other
services.
Residents of industrial parks are also provided with extensive
tax and customs incentives. They are exempt from profit, property
and land taxes for 10 years from the date of registration. In
addition, machinery, technological equipment and facilities
imported for production purposes are exempt from value-added tax
and customs duties for 10 years.
These and other factors are supporting a sustained flow of
investment into the country, which is reflected in statistical
indicators. According to the State Statistics Committee, investment
in Azerbaijan's non-oil and gas sector increased by 1.9% in real
terms in January-July 2026 compared with the same period of last
year, reaching 7.4033 billion manats ($4.354 billion).
Alongside increasing investment inflows, the more efficient
selection and prioritization of investment projects and the
acceleration of their implementation are also becoming increasingly
important. This need has led to the creation of a new institutional
mechanism within Azerbaijan's investment policy.
By a Cabinet of Ministers order dated June 1, 2026, a Commission
was established to ensure the accelerated implementation of
strategic investment projects of particular importance to the
country's economy, introduce a unified approach to project planning
and implementation, and strengthen interagency coordination.
The initial list of strategic investment projects is determined
by the Ministry of Economy, after which a list of potential
investment projects is submitted to the Commission for
consideration. The Commission will select and evaluate strategic
investment projects based on objective analytical criteria under a
"fast-track" mechanism. This is expected to reduce the
implementation time of major investment projects by approximately
30%-40%.
The new mechanism is designed to ensure that strategically
important investment projects are implemented through a more
coordinated and unified approach. The implementation of major
investment projects involves a range of issues, requiring prompt
and coordinated decisions on land, infrastructure, energy supply,
construction, environmental protection, customs, taxation,
transportation and other areas.
For this reason, the inclusion in the Commission of government
bodies responsible for the economy, finance, energy, environment,
justice, labor, emergency situations, agriculture, digital
development and transport, customs, urban planning and other areas
is particularly important.
Such broad institutional representation will allow strategic
projects to be assessed from different perspectives and facilitate
faster coordination of multiple issues among various government
agencies.
Thus, the fast-track mechanism for strategic investment projects
is expected to accelerate and streamline their implementation.
