EBRD can help attract long-term capital to Azerbaijan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) can help reduce project risks and attract long-term capital to Azerbaijan, according to Real Hajiyev, Deputy Director of EBRD in Azerbaijan, Report informs.

Speaking at the Germany-Azerbaijan Connectivity Conference in Baku, held under the theme Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure, Transport, Logistics, Green Energy and Digitalization Along the Middle Corridor, he noted that trade facilitation programs are well suited to meeting short-term financing needs.

"However, when it comes to long-term financing, the most important issue is ensuring that projects themselves are bankable, meaning they are attractive to lenders and technically, institutionally, and engineering-wise sound. Assuming these components are already in place, multilateral development banks, and the EBRD in particular, can help in two directions," Hajiyev said.

According to him, the first area is risk mitigation: "This can be achieved through blended finance, first-loss guarantees, or investment grants for projects that meet specific criteria and go beyond standard requirements," he noted.

The official further stated that the second area involves channeling long-term capital from other countries and financial markets into Azerbaijan through mechanisms such as A and B loans, syndications, and other financial instruments.

"The key is to connect available capital with investment projects. Multilateral development banks can serve as a bridge between these two sides of the equation," Hajiyev added.