Azerbaijan, Baku, 14 April / Trend / In January to March 2008 the GDP in Azerbaijan grew by 14% and the economic growth for 2004-2007 made up 96%, said the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, on 14 April at the meeting of Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the social-economic development of the Republic in the first quarter of 2008.
" Azerbaijan still remains as a leading country in the CIS and the world for the amount of budget expenses per capita. The country's currency reserves reached $9bln," Ilham Aliyev said.
The President especially highlighted the issues which play an important role in improving the public's standards, which is a priority of the State policy. "Over the past three months, the income of the population has increased by 33% and real income by 18%," the President said.
The State Head highlighted that measures are being taken to prevent price increases in the Country, to decrease the poverty level and to remove unemployment. Since 2004, 668,000 new jobs, with 478,000 being permanent, have been created.
The President highlighted the importance of realizing the oil strategy and attention that will be paid towards developing the non-oil sector.