President Ilham Aliyev’s remarks at a meeting on September 22 on the “State Program for the Development of Mining (Metal Ores) and Metallurgical Industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2027–2030” offer a clear indication of the sectors that could come to the forefront of Azerbaijan’s economic development in the next stage. Azerbaijan has long been known primarily as an oil and gas country. The oil and gas sector remains highly important to the economy and is expected to retain that role in the coming years.
In January-August 2026, Azerbaijan’s GDP stood at 87.7 billion manats, with 26.2 billion manats generated by the oil and gas sector, accounting for roughly 30% of total GDP. These figures show that the objective is to expand other parts of the economy at a faster pace. As new sectors grow, the relative share of oil and gas in GDP and exports will decline, while the overall production base of the economy will become broader.
President Ilham Aliyev’s remarks indicate that metallurgy could play a particularly important role in this process. As President Ilham Aliyev said: “Although it is a capital-intensive sector, a new, modern industrial domain will be established in our country. The creation of over 5,000 permanent jobs is envisaged.
Overall, the processing and efficient utilization of our natural resources, alongside the full establishment of the production chain, will strengthen the national economy.” The importance of metallurgy lies in the added value it can generate across several areas of the economy. Metal production provides raw materials and industrial inputs for construction, machinery, energy, transport, agricultural equipment and the defense industry. This makes the processing of ore into higher-value products far more important than simply extracting and exporting raw materials.
Azerbaijan’s metallurgical industry has not developed to its full potential for various reasons. One of the major obstacles was the occupation of mineral-rich Karabakh and surrounding territories by Armenia. Azerbaijan has now restored its territorial integrity, opening access to mineral resources that could not previously be fully utilized.
The development of gold, copper and molybdenum deposits in Kalbajar, Aghdara and Zangilan is currently among the priorities. Geological exploration is also expected to expand in Nakhchivan. The President has stressed that if significant new deposits are discovered, exporting the resources as raw ore would be a mistake.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
