A number of agreements on joint development of oil and gas resources were signed with foreign investors in the frame of Oil Strategy, created by national leader Heydar Aliyev, which has being realized since 1994. The issue on effective management of revenues from implementation of these agreements was brought to agenda. The State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) was established in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan # 240 dated December 29, 1999 for the purpose of formation such mechanism.

Fund’s activity is directed to the achievement of the following objectives:

·  Preservation of macroeconomic stability, ensuring fiscal-tax discipline, decreasing dependence on oil revenues and stimulating development of the non-oil sector

· Taking into account that oil and gas are depletable resources ensuring intergenerational equality with regard to the country's oil wealth and accumulate and preserve oil revenues for future generations

· Financing major national scale projects to support socio-economic progress