By signing of the “Contract of the Century” in 1994 a new period has started in Azerbaijan, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the opening ceremony of semi-submersible drilling plant named after Heydar Aliyev in offshore supply and logistics base of SOCAR’s Caspian Drilling Company.

Axar.az reports citing APA news agency.

Head of the state noted that Azerbaijan took significant steps for oil industry: “Construction of Deepwater Jackets Factory started in 1970s with the initiative of Heydar Aliyev. There were other options, this factory was planned to be built on other coasts of the Caspian Sea. As a result of interference and efforts of Heydar Aliyev, Baku was chosen for construction of this factory. This factory plays invaluable role in Azerbaijan’s oil industry. Modernization of oil refineries in 1970s, implementation of other projects served development of Azerbaijan’s oil industry. As for the period of independence, had we not gotten foreign partners involved in making investments in Azerbaijan, the economic situation in the country would’ve been quite different. Signing of the Contract of the Century in 1994 was a historical event. I remember those days well. We participated in the negotiations with Khoshbakht Yusifzade. We were negotiating in Istanbul in May 1994 and Huston in July-August 1994 in order to ensure most acceptable conditions for Azerbaijan. At the same time we were trying investors not to reject our proposals. I think we achieved option acceptable for both sides. As a result of negotiations, the Contract of the Century was signed in 1994 and its implementation has been ongoing since that time. Without “Contract of the Century”, Azerbaijan would’ve been unable to develop this much. Everyone must know it. Main source of our successful development is the Contract of the Century and incomes from this project”.