Azerbaijan's finance minister talks country's future economic policy
Azerbaijan should continue to pursue an economic policy independent of oil prices, the country's Finance Minister Samir Sharifov told reporters April 11.
"Today, Azerbaijan tries to pursue its economic policy in such a way that it does not strongly depend on oil prices. When calculating the state budget of Azerbaijan for 2018, we took the price of oil at a level much lower than its current value. I think that Azerbaijan should continue to pursue such a cautious policy," noted the minister.
The price of oil in the state budget of Azerbaijan is set at $45 per barrel.
World oil prices on Wednesday morning decline after the data on oil reserves from the American Petroleum Institute (API) did not meet the expectations of analysts.
The cost for June futures of the North Sea Brent oil mix decreased by 0.38 percent to $70.77 per barrel, while the price for May futures of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil decreased by 0.23 percent to $65.36 per barrel.
People of Azerbaijan have no other option except for Ilham Aliyev: political analyst
The people of Azerbaijan have no other option except for Ilham Aliyev - a strong and visionary leader who can play well on all international diplomatic fronts, Malik Ayub Sumbal, columnist, political analyst and broadcaster, wrote in his article for Chinese CGTN website.
"Azerbaijan's opposition has a problem in that it is much divided, weak and does not have the confidence of the people," the article said.
There is a lack of vision in the opposition and it has no leader who can face the country's challenges, like the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the resulting refugee crisis, Sumbal said.
Nagorno-Karabakh was occupied by Armenia and both countries have been involved in cross border firing and skirmishes, the author wrote.
"With such challenges on its doorstep, a weak leadership in Azerbaijan could endanger the country's territorial integrity," he said.
"A huge influx of refugees who fled from Nagorno-Karabakh and settled in the capital Baku and surrounding areas has been a big challenge, but the incumbent government managed to resettle one million migrants," the article said.
Meanwhile, Baku, with its fascinating mix of modern and old infrastructure, leaves no doubt that the current leadership has delivered on its promises for the development of the country, according to the article.
"Ilham Aliyev launched a massive anti-corruption campaign and cracked down on corrupt officials and ministries in his recent term," the author added.
"He carried out reforms to the social services by launching ASAN, a state agency aimed at making government services more accessible to citizens using modern technology," the article said. "He also pulled the country out of a severe economic crisis by devaluing the currency after the massive slump in the global oil market, then opened the country to tourism, making it a popular destination for visitors from the Middle East and Asia."