New York, September 25, 2025
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev used his address to the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly to highlight his country’s financial resilience, stressing that Azerbaijan’s foreign currency reserves are nearly 16 times greater than its external debt.
Aliyev pointed to recent upgrades by two leading international rating agencies, Moody’s and Fitch, as confirmation of what he called Azerbaijan’s “economic sustainability, strong fiscal discipline, and favorable investment climate.”
“Our external debt amounts to only 6.5 percent of GDP, one of the lowest indicators in the world,” Aliyev said. “Azerbaijan’s foreign currency reserves are almost 16 times higher than our external debt.”
The figures reflect Baku’s longstanding policy of maintaining low sovereign debt while channeling oil and gas revenues into reserves. Officials in Baku frequently underscore this financial buffer as a key factor in shielding the economy from global shocks and bolstering investor confidence.
