Azerbaijan expands international aid and targets $15 billion GDP boost from raw material processing

Azerbaijan has provided approximately $400 million in humanitarian, economic, and technical assistance to more than 140 countries since 2020. During a speech at the 81st UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov highlighted the nation's commitment to international solidarity, noting a particular focus on small island developing states and partner nations in Africa.

Economically, Azerbaijan is positioning itself to move beyond a transit-only role. Jonathan Bar II, Managing Director of Credit and Structured Finance at Apollo, stated at the Azerbaijan International Investment Forum that developing infrastructure to process raw materials from Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan could add between $10 billion and $15 billion annually to Azerbaijan's GDP. Bar noted that processing these resources locally for export to Western markets could have a transformative impact comparable to the development of oil fields. Apollo expressed interest in providing long-term capital for such infrastructure projects over a 20-to-30-year horizon.

Domestically, Azerbaijan reports that its GDP has tripled over the last two decades, while poverty levels have decreased from 49% to approximately 5%.