Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
The Azerbaijani economy will grow by 2-3 percent per year in the medium term, Chief of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Mission to Azerbaijan Mohammed El Qorchi, who is on a visit in Baku, said in an interview with Trend.
In 2017, the situation in Azerbaijan’s economy will be better than in 2016, according to him.
Meanwhile, El Qorchi noted, certain difficulties will remain in the country’s economic life.
Last year was quite complicated – the Azerbaijani economy gradually got out of recession, but the situation remained difficult, El Qorchi said, adding he believes that Azerbaijan’s GDP will continue to grow by 2-3 percent in the medium term.
A slight recession in Azerbaijan’s economy is connected primarily with a sharp decline in oil prices, according to him.
El Qorchi said that after this decline, Azerbaijan, like other oil exporting countries, faced certain difficulties.
Oil prices decreased considerably, affecting the country’s economy, especially in 2015 and 2016, he explained.
Earlier, IMF forecast growth of the Azerbaijani economy at 1.4 percent in 2017, 2.3 percent in 2018, 2.9 percent in 2019 and 2.5 percent in 2020.
IMF forecast nominal GDP of Azerbaijan at 59.74 billion manats in 2017, reaching 67.84 billion manats by 2020.
The International Monetary Fund opened its office in Baku in 1992.