Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 31
Trend:
Successful policy that is being implemented has led to major investments in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.
He made the remarks in his opening speech at a conference dedicated to the results of implementation of "The State Program on socio-economic development of the regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2014-2018."
“Over the past 15 years, the Azerbaijani economy has developed at a record pace on a global scale,” he said. “Our gross domestic product increased 3.3 times. I want to say again that this is a record figure on a global scale. Industrial production has increased 2.6 times. Our exports have increased 4.7 times, foreign exchange reserves 24 times and now amount to $45 billion. This shows that despite major investments in the regions of Azerbaijan, in the oil and gas sector and in the development of Baku, we have managed to increase our foreign exchange reserves 24 times. This lets us be very optimistic about the future. Azerbaijan's economy is sustainable now.”
“This successful policy has led to major investments in our country,” he added. “In 15 years, about $250 billion have been invested in Azerbaijan, and half of that is foreign investments. So Azerbaijan is a very attractive country for foreign investors. The investment climate in Azerbaijan stimulates foreign investors.”
“I want to bring another fact to your attention,” he noted. “Azerbaijan was mentioned in the World Bank's Doing Business report for the first time in 2006, when it was in 98th place. As a result of the fundamental reforms carried out and the improved investment climate, Azerbaijan ranks 25th in the world according to the latest report. In other words, this gives us grounds to say that both local and foreign investors will continue to invest heavily in Azerbaijan. This investment will continue to create jobs and new enterprises and confidently develop our country.”
“Over the past 15 years, 2 million new jobs have been created,” he said. “The population has increased by 1.6 million people. This is also an excellent indicator. The bigger the population, the more rapidly our country will develop. But, of course, we must continue to organize our work in such a way that economic development and creation of jobs outpace population growth, so that the growing population is provided with work. Job creation was an integral part of the programs on socioeconomic development of the regions and, as I have already noted, 2 million jobs have been created. A significant part of them falls on the regions. Agriculture has increased 1.7 times. I am sure that growth will go faster in the future.”
“In a nutshell, all our economic indicators suggest that Azerbaijan has successfully and confidently developed for the past 15 years,” he noted. “Our increased economic opportunities have allowed us the opportunity to pay great attention to social issues. I would like to voice several figures. Over the past 15 years, wages have been increased seven times and pensions nine times. Over the past 15 years, more than 3,200 schools have been overhauled or rebuilt, 640 medical institutions have been built and reconstructed, and 44 Olympic centers have been established in the regions. This shows again that our policy is socially oriented and we primarily channel our revenues into the social sphere.”