ADB President and President of Azerbaijan Discuss Development Priorities
BAKU — Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev met today to discuss Azerbaijan’s strategic development priorities including its green transition.
On his first official visit to the country Mr. Asakawa also met Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov and Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, among other senior officials.
“We commend the government’s priorities of growing a sustainable, competitive, and inclusive economy; expanding human capital development; accelerating the country’s energy transition,” said Mr. Asakawa. “As we celebrate 25 years of partnership between ADB and Azerbaijan, ADB recommits to supporting the country’s development goals.”
Mr. Asakawa and Mr. Aliyev also discussed ADB’s support for connectivity, sustainable urban transport, and water projects, as well as the development of green energy corridors. Azerbaijan aims to increase its renewable energy capacity to 30% by 2030.
Yesterday, Mr. Asakawa visited a 230-megawatt solar plant near the Alat settlement that was cofinanced by ADB with a $21.4 million loan. The plant is ADB’s first renewable energy project in Azerbaijan and the nation’s first significant private sector renewables investment to include long-term international development financing.
Tomorrow, Mr. Asakawa will draw attention to the issue of melting glaciers at ADA University in a speech entitled “The Roof of the World is Melting: A Call for Collective Action to Protect Azerbaijan’s Glaciers.” Glacial melt from climate change is increasing flood risks to infrastructure such as roads and bridges, while also threatening harvests and crop production due to disrupted water flows. 2025 is the International Year for Glaciers’ Preservation.
As Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, ADB is also supporting Azerbaijan’s Presidency of COP29, including via capacity building ahead of the landmark United Nations climate summit set to take place in Baku in November.
Since Azerbaijan joined the bank in 1999, ADB has committed more than $5 billion in sovereign and private sector assistance, including in transport, energy, health care, and agriculture.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.