BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 12
By Zeyni Jafarov – Trend:
As predicted earlier, Azerbaijan's economic growth has recovered following the first 5 months of 2021, Vusal Gasimli, Executive Director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC) of Azerbaijan, said, Trend reports.
“The decline in the Azerbaijani economy under the influence of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic began in May 2020. A year later, economic growth had resumed. Subsequently, from January through May 2021, Azerbaijan's GDP increased by 0.8 percent. Despite the decline in the hydrocarbon sector, the non-oil sector grew by 4.5 percent,” the CAERC executive director said.
Gasimli also noted that during the reporting period, the non-oil industry, which plays a key role in economic growth, grew by 16.2 percent and has been a driver with the highest share in overall economic growth for several years.
The share of the non-oil industry in GDP over the past five years has grown from 14.4 to 17.9 percent, he added.
According to the executive director, the development of manufacturing and mining industries in the Karabakh region (previously liberated from the Armenian occupation) will accelerate the overall industrialization in Azerbaijan.
“In the first 5 months of this year, the growth was also recorded in crops, livestock, information, communications services and retail. But economic growth hasn’t yet been restored in a number of sectors, including public catering, transport and construction,” the expert noted.
“What matters is that the non-oil exports grew by 27 percent in the first 5 months of this year,” Gasimli stressed.
“According to World Bank (WV) forecasts, economic growth in Azerbaijan will amount to 1.9 percent in 2021, and 4.5 percent in 2022. Moreover, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts economic growth in Azerbaijan for 2021 at 2.3 percent and 1.7 percent - in 2022,” he said.
Gasimli also added that the non-oil sector should simultaneously compensate for the decline in hydrocarbon revenues and ensure the overall economic growth of Azerbaijan.
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