Ogtay Akhverdiyev, the Chief of the Department of Price, Economic, and Credit and Financial Policy of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Country, told Trend that significant paces of the development had been observed in Azerbaijan economy in 2006. It was for the first time in the non-oil sector of the economy when its growth reached 11%.
No CIS country has such a growth in the economy as a whole. The growth could be possible virtually owing to all the fields chemical industry, metallurgy, and particularly the sphere of services, said Mr. Akhverdiyev.
According to him, it speaks about the fact that the Government aims on the development of the non-oil sector to avoid the Holland Syndrome when there has been an increase in allotments from the oil export.
The growth of the oil sector of Azerbaijan economy reached 40%. The growth rates in the non-oil sector in the forecast for 2007 are expected at the rate of 9%, the oil 35%.
Along with the above-mentioned tendency, the increase in the population income is observed as well. Measures are taken to increase wages, pensions, and social allowances
With expanding the country's export potentials, the pressure on the rate of the National Currency is set up to increase. National Bank is doing all possible not to allow an excessive growth of the manta rate, he explained.
It is true that the strengthening of Manat is one of the ways to regulate the inflation rate. Mr. Akhverdiyev is sure that the consumer prices growth rates in the next year will not exceed one-digit figure and will be at the rate of 8.5-8.7%. As to the inflation, it is expected to be at the level of 8 percent in 2007.