The role of the "Contract of the Century" in the socio-cultural and economic development of Azerbaijan

Abstract

When Azerbaijan, an ancient oil country, regained its independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union, most of its oil wells were empty or in a state of disrepair, so it could not use its oil resources to the necessary extent. At the same time, Azerbaijan, which was experiencing economic decline like all Soviet republics, did not have the necessary opportunities to extract its own oil. In such difficult circumstances, the only way for Azerbaijan was to attract foreign investment to develop oil fields in the country and create conditions for extracting oil, as well as delivering it to foreign markets. However, it was also difficult to attract investment to the newly independent country. As a result of the far-sighted policy of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan was able to convince major oil companies to invest in the Azerbaijani oil industry. Finally, the “Contract of the Century” was signed in this direction. The "Contract of the Century" signed by Azerbaijan with foreign countries on September 20 paved the way for great socio-cultural and economic development by creating conditions for the country to use its resources. After the "Contract of the Century", the oil money that came to the country was directed to various fields, created conditions for opening new jobs, implementing various infrastructure projects, improving the welfare of the population and reducing the level of poverty. At the same time, oil revenues played an exceptional role in building the country's army, increasing defense costs, and finally returning the occupied territories of the country. At the same time, without the oil revenues coming to the country from the "Contract of the Century", the restoration of the liberated territories would not have been easy. In short, the "Contract of the Century" created conditions for solving Azerbaijan's major problems and laid the foundation for the comprehensive development of our country.