Business
Azerbaijan closed the second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum (AIIF 2026) in Baku on September 26 with 23 agreements and documents worth a combined $10.8 billion, according to the Ministry of Economy as reported by Report.az.
The signed documents cover artificial intelligence, energy including renewables, construction, the digital economy, industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, finance and water management. The breadth matters: Baku is using the forum format to show investors that its pipeline reaches well beyond hydrocarbons, even though oil and gas still dominate export revenue.
Officials added a wider figure. Counting projects announced at Baku Energy Week in June 2026, the planned joint projects with international partners total $16.7 billion. The ministry did not publish a full list of counterparties or individual deal values in its summary, so the split between binding commitments and memoranda of understanding remains unclear.
The energy tranche is the most concrete. Trade press reported that SOCAR, TotalEnergies and Abu Dhabi's XRG reached a final investment decision on full-field development of the Absheron gas and condensate field, and that SOCAR and ExxonMobil signed a production-sharing agreement for unconventional hydrocarbons in the Middle Kura basin. Those two items are covered in a separate CBJ report linked below.
President Ilham Aliyev told delegates that the non-oil sector now accounts for more than 70% of GDP, while oil and gas still make up more than 90% of exports. He said the government is also negotiating with unnamed international companies on data centers and AI development, a theme echoed in the forum's agenda, as reported by Hydrocarbon Processing.
For investors, the headline number is less important than conversion. Forum totals in the region often mix firm financing with intent documents, and the useful test over the next two to four quarters is how many of the 23 documents translate into financing closes, licences and construction starts. Transit is another indicator: officials expect cargo volumes of about 16 million tonnes this year, with a target of 25 million tonnes or more by 2030.
For businesses already in Azerbaijan, the diversification narrative is supported by trade data. Non-oil exports rose 17.6% to $2.81 billion in the first eight months of 2026, a trend that gives the non-oil investment pitch some measurable backing. The next step is transparency: publishing counterparties, deal values and timelines would let investors separate bankable projects from announcements.
