Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 12
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) expects a current account surplus of the country’s balance of payments for 2017 at five percent of GDP, Elman Rustamov, chairman of the CBA, said at a press conference in Baku on Feb. 12.
He said that such positive trend will continue in 2018. The head of the CBA noted that the macroeconomic reforms held since late 2014 aimed at diversifying the economy, as well as increase in oil prices, have ensured improvement of Azerbaijan’s balance of payments.
“Last year, surplus of the foreign trade balance amounted to $5 billion, which is 10 times more than in 2016,” said Rustamov. “Exports grew 52 percent and non-oil exports grew 23 percent. Improvement is also observed in the balances of primary and secondary revenues, as well as in the balance of services. The deficit of the balance of services has significantly decreased, and the surplus has been achieved regarding tourism services.”
He also added that as a result of improving Azerbaijan’s balance of payments, strategic foreign exchange reserves grew 11 percent in 2017.