Mammad Talibly: “I will gladly agree to the translation of the book into foreign languages”

Since the beginning of Azerbaijan's independence, heated discussions have been held in connection with the political and economic choice of Azerbaijan. One sees Azerbaijan in the CIS, others in the Eurasian Economic Union, and others in the Non-Aligned Movement. Some see it in integration into the Euro-Atlantic space. When choosing between these two different strategies, there is a clash of opinions. A few months ago, a well-known economist, head of the Institute for Economic Analysis Mammad Talibly published a book entitled "Economic Vector and Strategic Choice" dedicated to the political and economic substantiation of Azerbaijan's integration into the Euro-Atlantic space. To get answers to our questions about the purpose of the publication of the book and the message contained in it to the readership, we turned to the author.

Question: Why did it become necessary to write this book? What thought prompted you to write such an exhaustive (detailed) book on this topic?

Answer: Not a single idea dawns on a person immediately, and he does not begin to implement it at the same moment. Serious topics cause concern at the beginning, which later flows into reflection. Then you begin to feel the need to expand your knowledge of them and, eventually, to systematize your already formed thoughts. I have been thinking about this for many years. Conducted a study of the rational roots of the political and economic space in which Azerbaijan is located. I got acquainted with more serious analytical products about this. I tried to speak the "language" of numbers in this area. I consulted with my closest associates in this area. We argued. Finally, my economist friends insisted on writing a book on the importance of justifying Azerbaijan's strategic choices. I accepted this challenge and decided to systematize my thoughts in this direction, especially during the pandemic. As a result, I wrote and presented this book to the readers.

Question: Could you tell us about the main themes of the book? What topics  does the book cover?

Answer: The book consists of five chapters and is devoted to the topics corresponding to these chapters. The first chapter is titled "The Economy of the South Caucasus: Military Losses and the Post-War Period". The chapter is mainly devoted to squeezing our economy as a "sandwich", the consequences caused by the war economy in both countries, the export map of the countries of the South Caucasus, attracting investments to Karabakh and their use.

In the second chapter I will answer the question "Geography of the CIS: how to get out of the damned circle?". In this chapter, as the main topics, I touched on the complications of the political orbit of Russia, the manifestation of the “gangster” capitalism of the post-Soviet space, the place and role of Azerbaijan in the CIS space, the image of the winner who “lost” Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war, how Russia copes with the SWIFT problem, factology of the disproportionate discrepancy between the territory, population and economy of Russia.

The third chapter contains a message about the strategic choice that Azerbaijan will soon have to make - whether to move towards the European Union or not. On the basis of this chapter, our economy was analyzed, as it is seen from Europe, the expectations and results of the Eastern Partnership program were assessed, and the question of why we should open the “doors” of the WTO was clarified. Alternatives of the strategic choice on the way of Azerbaijan's integration into the global world are presented and a signal is given that the moment of such a strategic choice is approaching.

The fourth chapter presents a multi-vector economic assessment of Turkish-Azerbaijani economic relations.

Finally, the final chapter analyzes recent trends in the global economy. This chapter analyzes the implications of "megatrends, global challenges and pandemics". In this direction, expectations and thoughts were mainly analyzed regarding the contraction of the world economy, how the global debt bubble burst, the possible consequences of this for Azerbaijan against the backdrop of the US-Iranian conflict, the coronavirus tax, government money and the "capsule of love", as well as the pandemic.

Question: What is the main readership and purpose of the book? Whom is it most directed to?

Answer: The book contains an analysis of Azerbaijan's foreign economic relations, the direction of development of its economic vector in recent years, independent reflections on the rationale for the strategic choice that our country should make in the future. At the same time, by doing this, I tried to shed light on the path that Azerbaijan should take in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which is the most topical topic of recent months. From this point of view, the book is addressed to those who are interested in the social and political situation, public figures and economists.

Question: Was there a presentation of the book? If people are aware of this book, how did they know or will learn about it?

Answer: The presentation has taken place. We thought that there would be few participants, because, to be honest, we did not do a big campaign. But contrary to our expectations, people did not fit into the room where the presentation took place, so it took place in stages, i.e. people came in groups and we presented the signed books to the readers. On that day, 1/3 of the published books were sold. And the public outcry caused by the presentation, we felt later in the book retail chains. We gave books to some of them, in particular, to the book house "Kitabevim" and Papillon. And after the presentation, I shared some of the content on my Facebook account. The geography of awareness of this book has expanded a little more.

Question: Bringing such a book to a wider readership, including a foreign audience, can be very useful. We would like to know if the book will be translated into other languages? Do you have such plans?

Answer: I received an offer from a publishing house in Turkey. But if any of the diplomatic corps, embassies in Azerbaijan is interested, I will gladly agree to the translation of this book into foreign languages.