The CEO of the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ), Israfil Mammadov, spoke at a high-level roundtable for institutional investors held in Davos, as part of the World Economic Forum’s “Annual Meeting 2026 – Governors’ Session II”.

The roundtable brought together leaders of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, international financial institutions, and leading private investment firms, who exchanged views on the evolving global investment landscape amid the transition to a new phase of the global economy. Discussions focused on rising macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, the impact of structural shifts on financial markets, inflationary pressures, the interest rate environment, debt sustainability, global capital flows, and the divergence of economic growth across regions and sectors.

In his remarks, Israfil Mammadov noted that the current economic and financial environment requires new approaches and greater agility in decision-making from institutional investors, emphasizing the need to prepare for multiple potential market scenarios rather than a single baseline outlook. He highlighted resilience as a core strategy for preserving long-term value, underscoring the importance of purposeful portfolio diversification across sources of return and risk.

Israfil Mammadov also drew attention to SOFAZ’s mandate-driven and disciplined investment approach, which supports current fiscal stability while building long-term financial assets for future generations.

The discussion further addressed emerging models of collaboration among institutional investors. Mr. Mammadov emphasized that differing investment mandates should be viewed not as constraints, but as opportunities for more flexible and effective partnership frameworks. In this context, he highlighted the importance of risk-sharing and coordinated engagement among several sovereign entities, pension funds, and development finance institutions to channel long-term capital toward real economic needs.

SOFAZ’s participation in such international platforms contributes to strengthening dialogue with the global investment community, fostering discussion on approaches aligned with changing market realities, and incorporating advanced international practices into the Fund’s strategic decision-making.