Azerbaijan to set up competition research centre under 2027-2029 action plan

Azerbaijan will establish a research centre on competition under a national action plan for 2027-2029, Elnur Baghirov, chairman of the State Agency for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control, told the third National Competition Forum in Baku on 14 October, Report.az reported. "The National Action Plan envisages the establishment of a research center on competition, improvement of the methodology for market diagnostics, and integration of competition policy and competition law into higher education programs," he said, according to APA.

The forum, organised by the agency around the theme of a new stage in Azerbaijan's competition policy, was attended by members of parliament, state bodies, business associations and private-sector representatives, the agency said in a statement. Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, First Deputy Economy Minister Elnur Aliyev and Azer Amiraslanov, who chairs parliament's committee on economic policy, industry and entrepreneurship, also spoke at the opening. Presentations covered the regulation of natural monopolies, public-private partnerships and cooperation with independent regulators, including one by an official of the Energy Regulatory Agency, the statement said.

What the plan schedules

President Ilham Aliyev approved the plan by an order dated 11 September 2026. The order tasks the agency with coordinating implementation and reporting to the president once a year, and assigns monitoring and evaluation to the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication at the agency's request. The plan's text, published in Azerbaijani on the presidential website, places the research centre under a measure on stimulating competition research, led by the agency with the Ministry of Science and Education and scheduled for 2028-2029 (measure 8.2.1). It sets three stages: a study of international practice and existing needs, a project defining the centre's organisational model and fields of work, and finally its establishment and launch.

Other measures in the plan include:

• a system of indicators measuring competition nationally and by region, and a competition map built on it, in 2027-2029, with the State Statistics Committee, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport (measure 8.1.4);
• a review of economic, technical and administrative regulations, including licensing and permit procedures, in 2027-2028 (measure 8.1.1);
• proposals on competitive neutrality at state-owned enterprises, excluding banks in which the state holds a controlling stake, in 2027-2028, with the state holding companies Azerbaijan Investment Holding and AZCON among the co-implementers (measure 8.1.2);
• a mechanism for a phased move to a competitive market model in specially regulated infrastructure and service sectors and in markets with exclusive state participation, in 2028-2029, with the Ministry of Energy and the State Water Resources Agency among the co-implementers (measure 8.1.3).

The plan is to be financed from the state budget, extra-budgetary funds and other sources not prohibited by law. It acknowledges that regulatory measures may cause short-term volatility in economic indicators in some markets, and that the research and education measures may require additional human, financial and technical resources, the text shows.

Natural monopolies and energy

Baghirov said the plan envisages "identifying activities where competition is possible and exploring opportunities for a gradual transition to a competitive market model" in sectors with high state participation and natural monopoly characteristics, which he said include energy, transport and other market infrastructure services, according to APA. The indicators and competition map are intended "to link competition policy to measurable results and data-driven decision-making", he said, Trend reported.

Shahbazov said six new laws had been adopted as part of reforms to develop competition in the energy sector. The law on energy sets market relations, free competition and the separation of activities as principles of state policy, and the separation of electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply is particularly important, he said. He added that the natural monopoly characteristics of electricity and gas transmission and distribution make effective state regulation necessary, APA reported.

Amiraslanov said parliament would continue to work with the agency to improve competition legislation, APA reported. The current framework rests on the Competition Code, adopted by Law No. 1051-VIQ of 8 December 2023, which systematised antimonopoly and unfair competition legislation, according to the plan; the law on antimonopoly activity dates from 1993. The plan also cites market diagnostics work in Türkiye, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and describes the Turkic States Competition Council, formed by Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, as a platform for regional cooperation.