Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 3
By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:
By 2020 the oil revenues in Azerbaijan's GDP will be reduced from the current 47 per cent to 20-25 per cent, Azerbaijani Minister of Communications and Information Technologies, Ali Abbasov said on Dec. 3 at the Azerbaijan-U.S. ICT Business Forum.
This will be achieved through the development of non-oil sector, the minister said.
Abbasov noted that it is important to apply an innovative approach for building a large-scale economy for such a small-scale market as Azerbaijan.
The economy that depends on natural resources needs to redirect the capital to the development of other industries, namely to the development of technology-intensive products and services.
The ministry was instructed to prepare the government's policy in this area and create a favourable ground for the development of the ICT sector, according to the minister. He underlined three main areas that can contribute to creating a favourable environment.
Abbasov said that the first area includes the development of human resources through development of science, creation of specialized universities like the University of Information Technologies, and sending students to study abroad.
The second area is the creation of a favourable environment for development. This includes the taxation policy, customs and fiscal policy, protection of investments, etc., on each of which the government is doing everything necessary and possible, in order to create a favourable environment for entrepreneurs.
The third important area is the capital, the minister said. In this regard, Azerbaijan, compared to other countries without natural resources, has great benefits, and the income from the oil industry is being directed to the development of non-oil economy.
The minister also underlined the areas that can be interesting for foreign investors. These include the possibility of foreign companies' participation in the local and regional projects initiated by Azerbaijan.
Abbasov said that, Azerbaijan is ready to invest in the creation of new clusters. Here the matter rests in creating innovations and creation of export-oriented products.