BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 12
Trend:
A meeting on the situation in the global energy market and its impact on the country's economy was held in Azerbaijan’s Cabinet of Ministers under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Ali Asadov on March 11, Trend reports.
Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department of Economic Issues and Innovative Development Policy of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahmar Movsumov, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov, Chairman of the Central Bank (CBA) Elman Rustamov, Executive Director of the State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) Israfil Mammadov and Assistant to the Prime Minister Fakhri Ismailov attended at the meeting.
Shahmar Movsumov, noting the volatility observed in oil prices in 2014-2016, said that at that time oil prices had fallen from $140 to $30.
“It was a sharp volatility. Compared to that, the observed changes today are not so great. Naturally, the dependence of Azerbaijan's economy on oil prices has also sharply decreased during these years. This, of course, became possible as a result of a thoughtful policy of the head of state,” Movsumov added.
“Currently, the economy of Azerbaijan is quite stable. The pressure associated with the exchange rate is more based on psychological factors. Even if Azerbaijan does not make any changes today, our resources will allow us to carry out sustainable activities in the next 20 years. I believe that there is no reason for concern, " the assistant to the president said.
A number of instructions were also given at the meeting. First of all, the CBA and the SOFAZ should continue to take the necessary measures to maintain stability in the foreign exchange markets; follow up on a bill to extend the term of full deposit insurance, which is already in the Parliament; the CBA, in accordance with the instructions of the president, should continue the measures taken to improve the banking sector and accelerate the steps taken; tax authorities within their powers should take appropriate measures to prevent cases of abuse of the situation that arose in the foreign exchange market; the Ministry of Finance should take appropriate measures to further strengthen the financial stability of the state budget for 2020 and fulfill budgetary obligations.