Since its independence from Soviet rule in 1991, Baku’s relations with Tehran have never been especially warm – its close ethnic and political ties with Turkey, Iran’s most important rival, almost certainly lie behind that.

Sector asset-quality metrics started improving in the second quarter of 2021 on the back of recovering business activity and appreciation of the Georgian lari.

In September alone, the non-oil exports rose by 75.2 percent year-on-year to $224.7 million, while the country's total export amounted to $1.7 billion.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.6 percent in January-August this year from a year earlier mainly backed by the growth in the non-oil sector.

Azerbaijan shipped 754,000 tonnes of oil via Russia in January-September, up from 330,000 tonnes shipped in the same period last year.

The resource-rich ex-Soviet country is now scheduled to produce 647,000 bpd in October.