Elnur Aliyev: Mechanisms for supporting entrepreneurs are aimed at expanding investment opportunities

The main goal of state support for entrepreneurs is to increase investment potential, remove barriers to business development, and strengthen the role of the private sector in the economy.

First Deputy Minister of Economy Elnur Aliyev stated this to BAKU.WS while speaking at the III National Competition Forum organized by the State Agency for Antimonopoly Supervision and Consumer Market Control.

According to him, in previous years various discussions were held devoted to the business environment, the activities of market participants, and new challenges in the field of competition. The current forum, however, opens an opportunity to examine existing issues in a broader context.

Elnur Aliyev emphasized that the key question is ensuring that the decisions made and planned measures lead to concrete results - both in the activities of entrepreneurs and in the everyday lives of consumers.

The deputy minister noted that the economic development strategy laid down by national leader Heydar Aliyev and the reforms carried out under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev have created favorable conditions for the growth of the private sector. At the same time, the effective use of the opportunities created directly depends on how decisions are implemented in practice.

He reported that for January–September 2026, 70.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product comes from the non-oil and gas sector. During the 2021–2025 period, the average annual real growth in this area amounted to approximately 6 percent.

According to the deputy minister's data, during the first nine months of the current year, out of 14.7 billion manats of fixed capital investments, 9.8 billion manats were directed to the non-oil and gas sector. At the same time, the number of employment contracts in the non-oil and gas private sector increased by 36 thousand since the beginning of the year and reached 1 million 67 thousand. This figure accounts for 56.5 percent of the total number of employment contracts in the country.

Elnur Aliyev emphasized that the conditions created for entrepreneurial activity have a direct impact on economic growth and employment. According to him, difficulties associated with market entry, access to financial resources, and connection to infrastructure inevitably affect investment decisions and the creation of new jobs.

The deputy minister named among the priorities for the sustainable increase of non-oil and gas exports the improvement of productivity, reduction of production and logistics costs, as well as the strengthening of domestic products' positions in foreign markets. He noted that the formation of a healthy competitive environment within the country contributes to enhancing the competitiveness of enterprises in international markets.