Azerbaijan says SOCAR privatization 'out of question'

SOCAR plays an important role not only in Azerbaijan's economy but also influences the country’s foreign policy, the minister said.

Aliyev emphasized that the energy sector should focus on privatization of "auxiliary enterprises". 

"The distribution network in the energy sector is very old. In this network there are large losses, and privatization requires large investments,” Aliyev said. 

The minister explained that modernization of the distribution system will require about $4 billion and this process should involve large companies.