Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 22 / corr Trend N.Ismayilova /
Azerbaijani economy is well integrated into the global economy, and almost two thirds of the country's GDP is exported and over half of the economic growth is formed on the basis of foreign demand, CBA Managing Board Chairman Elman Rustamov said at a Cabinet of Ministers meeting.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev presided over the gathering dedicated to the socio-economic results of 2009.
In 2009, oil price dropped 1.5 times compared to 2008 and according to CBA calculations, it decreased from $90 to $62 per barrel.
"The drop in oil prices caused a loss of $2 billion. The end of 2010 is expected to bring a surplus amounting to $11 billion, whereas our initial expectations made up $16 billion," Rustamov said.
Over a year Azerbaijani banks repaid $1.2 billion in foreign debts under conditions of limited refinancing and advanced refunding requirements.
Rustamov said that in 2008 remittances to Azerbaijan constituted approximately $1 billion. Though the figure is not so high, it is still important for ensuring social status of people, especially in other countries. Over the past year remittances decreased by 20 percent due to problems in other countries.
Such economic malaises have devalued the national currency, increased inflation rates and worsened the populations' social status.
The developments abroad have had a psychological and economic impact on Azerbaijan's economy. Banks and companies, both private and state-run, implemented huge investment programs, seeking support on the international markets. In these conditions they were subjected to risks such as loss of high economic demand and worsening of the social state of population compared to previous years.
"However, one can say with confidence that all these risks have been left behind. Despite the negative impacts and risks, the country's economy demonstrated stability against the global economical crisis," Rustamov said.
According to Rustamov, the possibility of a high inflation rate has been prevented. The stable rate of the manat and the low inflation ratio enabled the increase of community money income by six percent. It also affected the country's competitiveness and average sustained prices for nationally manufactured products decreased by six percent compared to that in trade partner countries.
In 2009, CBA's net issue made up 1.8 billion manat, or five percent of the GDP.