BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. SOCAR's acquisition of an energy asset in Côte d'Ivoire could increase Azerbaijan's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa by hundreds of millions of dollars in 2026, Head of Global Business Development at SOCAR Trading Togrul Kocharli said on Friday at the 2nd Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
He said the deal on SOCAR's acquisition of the asset in Côte d'Ivoire was completed in September.
“The deal on SOCAR's acquisition of an asset in Côte d'Ivoire has been completed as of September. This is very recent information. Therefore, I believe that the 2026 results will show a significant increase in Azerbaijan's FDI in Africa, and this figure could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars,” Kocharli said.
According to him, SOCAR's trade relations with African countries have been developing for many years.
“Through SOCAR Trading, SOCAR has been building trade relations with various African countries for more than 15 years. North Africa, which is part of the Mediterranean region, is geographically one of the closest markets to us and has become one of SOCAR's key partners,” he noted.
Kocharli said SOCAR had been cooperating with Libya for many years, adding that trade turnover between the two countries had amounted to billions of dollars over the past five years.
“We have been operating in Libya for many years. Over the past five years, our trade turnover with Libya has probably amounted to billions of dollars. We purchase large volumes of crude oil from this country,” he said.
The SOCAR Trading official also described Egypt as an important partner for SOCAR.
“On the other hand, Egypt is one of the main buyers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from SOCAR. SOCAR plays an important role in ensuring Egypt's energy security,” Kocharli said.
He also highlighted the importance of cooperation with Tunisia.
“Tunisia is another major buyer of Azerbaijani products. I think Tunisia is one of the largest buyers of crude oil from the Azerbaijani region. We are one of the main suppliers to one of the oil refineries in Tunisia,” he added.
Kocharli said the main growth potential for SOCAR's activities in Africa was linked to investment projects such as the acquisition of energy assets.
“We see growth potential in projects such as the deal recently carried out by SOCAR in Côte d'Ivoire. This involves the acquisition of energy assets. Previously, SOCAR had an asset in Benin — a terminal at the Port of Cotonou. This was our first entry into African markets,” he said.
According to him, SOCAR plans to become more active in the markets of West Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa in the future.
“We expect the number of such deals to increase. As SOCAR, we intend to play a more active role in African markets, including West Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. We feel quite comfortable looking for new opportunities in North Africa,” Kocharli said.
He said other Azerbaijani companies were also showing growing interest in African markets.
“In addition to SOCAR, a number of other major Azerbaijani companies are exploring business opportunities in Africa. During state-supported visits to African countries, we also see representatives of AzerGold and organizations representing other sectors of the economy,” he said.
Kocharli emphasized that Azerbaijan's trade and investment turnover with African countries was growing.
“I am sure that statistical indicators show that Azerbaijan's trade and investment turnover with Africa is increasing, and this growth will continue in the future,” he added.
