By Nailia Bagirova

BAKU, June 19 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan is reviewing a potential sovereign sukuk issuance to attract long-term financing, with the central bank holding consultations with the Islamic Development Bank Group, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov told Reuters on Friday.

If it goes ahead, it will be the first time Azerbaijan has launched a sovereign issue of an Islamic-compliant sukuk security.

Jabbarov said the government’s broader aim was to expand access to finance for economic actors in Azerbaijan and make greater use of opportunities offered by institutions within the AAA-rated IsDB Group.

His comments came after dozens of agreements and memorandums worth over $4.7 billion were signed during the IsDB Private Sector Forum held alongside the bank's annual meeting in Baku.

Jabbarov said a significant share of the agreements directly involving Azerbaijan covered private sector development, infrastructure, energy, banking and water projects.

He said agreements covering the Karabakh irrigation canal and the Sumgait wastewater project alone were worth more than $550 million.

Local banks also received credit lines in manat and U.S. dollars for onward lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, while a separate financing facility was extended to the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund, he said.

Jabbarov said Azerbaijan had used the meetings to present investment opportunities in sectors including non-oil manufacturing, mining and critical minerals, agriculture, transport and logistics, tourism, renewable energy, financial services and digitalisation.

The IsDB has provided Azerbaijan with about $1.8 billion in financing since the country joined the bank in 1992, while 11 projects worth around $640 million are currently under implementation, according to Jabbarov.