Submitted by: Hafsa Iqbal

Class: BS-VIII

COUNTRY PROFILE OF AZERBAIJAN

CAPITAL OF THE COUNTRY:

BAKU

HISTORY

Northern Azerbaijan was known as Caucasian Albania in ancient times. The area was the site of
many conflicts involving Arabs, Kazars, and Turks. After the 11th century, the territory became
dominated by Turks and eventually was a stronghold of the Shiite Muslim religion and Islamic
culture. The territory of Soviet Azerbaijan was acquired by Russia from Persia through the
Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 and the Treaty of Turkamanchai in 1828.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Azerbaijan declared its independence from Russia in May 1918.
The republic was re-conquered by the Red Army in 1920 and was annexed into the
Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1922. It was later reestablished as a separate Soviet
Republic on Dec. 5, 1936. Azerbaijan declared independence from the collapsing Soviet Union
on Aug. 30, 1991.

Since 1988, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been feuding over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The majority of the enclave's inhabitants are Armenian Christians agitating to secede from the
predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan and join with Armenia. War broke out in 1988 when
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Nagorno-Karabakh tried to break away and annex itself to Armenia, and 30,000 died before a
cease-fire agreement was reached in 1994, with Armenia regaining its hold over the disputed
enclave. Final plans on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh have yet to be determined.

GEOGRAPHY

Azerbaijan is located in a southeast part of Transcaucasia region, in the west of Asia. It borders
in the north with Russia, in northwest with Georgia, in the south with Iran, in the West with
Armenia, in extreme southwest with Turkey. Its eastern part is washed by the Caspian Sea. The
territory's area is 86.6 thousand sq km. Besides its continental part Azerbaijan has numerous
small islands in the Caspian Sea (Baku archipelago and Absheron Peninsula).

The country measures 400 kms from north to south and 500 kms from east to west. 40% of the
country is covered by mountain ranges, of which the three major ones are Greater and Lesser
Caucasus and the Talysh. The highest mountain is Bazardz Da which lies in Greater
Caucasus range. More than half of the mud volcanoes in the world are located in Azerbaijan.

There are nearly 8,350 rivers in the country of which only 24 are long enough to be counted. All
the rivers ultimately meet the Caspian Sea. The longest river is Kur measuring 1,515 kms in
length, but it flows from Turkey through Georgia into Azerbaijan where it meets Aras river

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before flowing into the Caspian sea. Azerbaijan total territory also consists of four islands in the
Caspian Sea which form an area of 30 sq kms.

Climate

The cold arctic winds of Scandinavian and temperate winds from Siberia and Central Asia
contribute the extreme temperature in Azerbaijan. The influence of these winds is somewhat
reduced due to the Greater Caucasus mountain ranges, which block the cold winds, leading to a
subtropical climate.

Nine out of eleven climate zones are present in Azerbaijan. Temperatures vary within the
country depending upon the regions proximity to sea, regional landscape and effect of arctic and
temperate winds. As we go towards the Caspian Sea temperatures do not seem so harsh due to
the effect of nautical winds. But towards the mountains, warmth begins to lose its importance
and temperature drops to an average of 4-5 C. At its extreme, temperatures can reach a
maximum of 46 C, and in winters can get harsh at -33 C.

Nature

Plant diversity is high in the Nakhchivan region where 60% of the plant species are found.
Behind Nakhchivan are the regions of Kura-Araz plain, Davachi-Quba region, East of Greater
Caucasus, Centre of Lesser Caucasus, Gobustan, Lenkoran region of Talysh Mountains and
Absheron region where rest of the flora is found.

There are 400 species of plants, 15 species and 6 sub species of gobies and freshwater fish which
are local to Azerbaijan. The government of Azerbaijan is trying to protect its forests by
preserving 2.5 % of its land as state reserve. There are 16 state reserves in the country to protect
the flora and fauna of Azerbaijan.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

The Politics of Azerbaijan take place in a framework of a presidential republic, with

the President of Azerbaijan as the head of state, and the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan as head of
government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in
both the government and parliament. The Judiciary is nominally independent of the executive
and the legislature.
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Executive branch

The head of state and head of government are separate from the countrys law-making body.
President is the head of the state and head of executive branch. The people elect the president;
the prime minister is appointed by the President and confirmed by the National Assembly of
Azerbaijan. The President appoints all cabinet-level government administrators (ministers, heads
of other central executive bodies).

Legislative branch

The National Assembly of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Milli Mclis) is the legislative branch of
government in Azerbaijan. The unicameral National Assembly has 125 deputies: previously 100
members were elected for five-year terms in single-seat constituencies and 25 were members
elected by proportional representation; as of the latest election, however, all 125 deputies are
returned from single-member constituencies. The assembly is headed by the Speaker of Milli
Majlis assisted by the First Deputy Speaker and two deputy speakers.

Political parties and elections

Like all contemporary political systems, the political system of Azerbaijan is claimed to be
pluralism - the existence of more than one political party. The political parties participate in
political life through representatives in the legislative and local self-governing bodies.

However, the opposition parties against the New Azerbaijan Party (formed in 1922) are allowed,
but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. Therefore Azerbaijan is
considered as a one party dominant state

Judicial branch

The Supreme Court of Azerbaijan is a supreme judicial body on civil, criminal and other case
related to the execution of general and specialized courts. The Constitutional Court of
Azerbaijan is the supreme body of constitutional justice on the matters attributed to its
jurisdiction by the Constitution, with authority to interpret and apply the Constitution of
Azerbaijan.

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IMPORT AND EXPORT

Azerbaijan is the 68th largest export economy in the world and the 102nd most complex
economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). In 2013, Azerbaijan exported
$28.6B and imported $15.2B, resulting in a positive trade balance of $13.4B. In 2013 the GDP of
Azerbaijan was $73.6B and its GDP per capita was $7.81k.

The top exports of Azerbaijan are Crude Petroleum ($24.8B), Refined Petroleum ($964M),
Petroleum Gas ($850M), Raw Sugar ($242M) and Jewelry ($116M), using the 1992 revision of
the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Cars ($982M), Gold ($930M),
Wheat ($421M), Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($383M) and Rolled Tobacco ($297M).

The top export destinations of Azerbaijan are Italy ($8.08B), Indonesia ($2.51B), Germany
($2.01B), Thailand ($1.68B) and France ($1.64B). The top import origins are Turkey ($2.57B),
Russia ($2.02B) the United Kingdom ($1.42B), Germany ($1.05B) and Ukraine ($876M).

PAKISTAN AND AZERBAIJAN RELATIONS

Pakistan and Azerbaijan enjoy good relations. Azerbaijan and Pakistan are described as "friendly
and brotherly countries".

Relations date back when both nations were part of the Persian Empire and that the countries
enjoy similar cultural traditions especially because of the historic Turanian and Persian
influences in both countries. However, the relations between the two states were renewed when
the republic of Azerbaijan became independent following the collapse of the USSR. Pakistan
was the third country after Turkey and Romania that recognized Azerbaijan immediately and
built diplomatic ties after its independence from USSR in 1991.

The relation between brotherly countries

Pakistan extended assistance of US$ 1 million to newly independent brother country Azerbaijan,
and initially for capacity development organized free courses and trainings for professionals of
Azerbaijan in different domains. For instance, in the field of diplomacy alone, today Azerbaijan
has its 44 diplomats trained from Pakistan Foreign Service Academy.

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Azerbaijan also supported Pakistan, and President Mamnoon Hussain conferred Pakistan's
highest civil award of "Hilal-e-Pakistan" upon First Lady of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva, in
recognition of her services to the people of Pakistan and continuous humanitarian work,
spanning over a decade, by her organization Heydar Aliyev Foundation in Kashmir and other
parts of Pakistan.

The fundamental building block of the bilateral relationship is military cooperation. The two
countries signed a defense agreement and naval officers subsequently held discussions on
military-technical issues. In addition, Azerbaijani naval personnel participated in a Pakistani-led
exercise, Aman-2013, held in March on the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan is a potential arms supplier to Baku. Over the past few years, for instance, Azerbaijan
has shown interest in obtaining JF-17 aircraft, a multi-purpose combat jet developed jointly by
Pakistan and China.

In terms for educational support, Baku announced that it would offer scholarships for 36
Pakistani scholars and would set up programs at Pakistani Universities to promote a better
understanding of Azerbaijan. Universities of Azerbaijan and Pakistan have opened their
admissions for students from both countries. Azerbaijan has also offered to support needy
students within Pakistani Universities by providing them with financial assistance for completing
their education.

Several students have also come to Baku to complete their studies in Medicine and other fields.
In the field of culture and literature, visit of Azerbaijans musical troupe in 2005 to Pakistan and
their performance for the high officials of country and public in general, opened way for future
cooperation.

The publication of books in Urdu and English by the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Islamabad
served for the exchange of hand-writings and cooperation between the national libraries of the
two countries.

It seems that Pakistan and Azerbaijan have same ideas on many international issues as they have
many things in common. Azerbaijan has always supported Pakistan in its difficult times such as
during the 2005 earthquake and during the 2011 floods.

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Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Territory of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenian military forces

Territory of Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Armenian military forces

During the aggression in terms of massacre of hundreds of Azerbaijanis in Khojaly and

occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories by Armenia during the Nagorno-
Karabakh conflict, Pakistan has always backed Azerbaijan. Pakistan has neither till date
recognized Armenia nor has established any kind of diplomatic relations, and at every
international forum it has supported Azerbaijan.

Pakistani analysts are of the view that Pakistans support to Azerbaijan and non-recognition of
Armenia does not come without price tag, and as a developing country it is paying heavy price
for it. For instance, Pakistan want to be a part of TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe,
Caucuses and Asia) but Armenia being a member of the treaty continuously opposes Pakistans
entry into the treaty. Whenever Pakistan puts forward the demand for joining the treaty, Armenia
together with other countries joins their voices to halt the acceptance of Pakistan as a member.
Though Azerbaijan has supported Pakistans membership but that cannot overcome the opposing
voices.

In return for Pakistans support to Azerbaijan on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan has
supported Pakistans stance on Kashmir resolution. Specifically, after the resolution passed by

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the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate of Pakistan in support of Nagorno-Karabakh,
there is an increase in demand in Pakistani public circles for a reciprocal resolution on Kashmir
from the platform of Parliament of Azerbaijan on account of similarities that Kashmir issue holds
with Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Pakistan has gone through so many challenges at national and
international level. Similarly, Azerbaijan has survived independence after a long struggle. Hence,
unanimity of use should be created.

Opportunities

There exist tremendous opportunities for Azerbaijani and Pakistani investors in each others
country. In terms of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, there exist multiple
unutilized opportunities that could have been worked well for strengthening the relations
between the two states. For instance, the level of annual trade between the two countries in the
last 5 years remained between US$ 17 to 25 million only, which does not correspond with the
level of existing bilateral political goodwill between the two nations.

Azerbaijan can export its chemical products to Pakistan as it is in demand in the

consumption market of Pakistan
In terms of infrastructure development, Azerbaijan lies ahead of Pakistan and currently
the Government of Pakistan is undertaking massive mega infrastructure projects
attracting the investors. Being in a better position, Azerbaijan can invest and earn from
Pakistans infrastructure development.
Pakistan provides a sizeable market for Azerbaijan for the export of oil, natural gas and
electricity whereas; Azerbaijan is a good destination for Pakistani industrial and
agricultural goods. Exchange programs and visits, both on state and individual levels are
being carried out that has become valuable in strengthening bilateral relations.
The level of development of oil and gas in Azerbaijan makes it a significant country for
an energy starved Pakistan. Their expertise in this sector would benefit Pakistan
tremendously. Moreover, it can help Pakistan in other fields of manufacture and
technology. Since Pakistan has a lot of potential but is far from attaining expertise yet.

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