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Cabinet of Ministers holds large meeting presided by President of Azerbaijan on results of nine months of 2009

16 October 2009 15:09 (UTC +04:00)

The head of state said Azerbaijani economy has successfully developed over the past nine months, APA reports.

There are positive tendencies in the Azerbaijani economy despite the global financial crisis and economic downturn in most countries. â€œOur economic policy is based on the domestic resourcesâ€, said the president and added that the Azerbaijani economy could solve any situation in this case. GDP has increased 6.1% and industrial output â€“ 5 % over the past nine months. Azerbaijan produced record volume of the grain â€“ three millions tons as a result of comprehensive measures carried out in the agrarian sector. The macroeconomic situation remained steady and inflation was 2.1 % in the past nine months. It shows that the world financial crisis had minimum impact on the life of Azerbaijani citizens. Azerbaijani manat saved its stability. Cash income of the population raised 10 percent and average monthly salary â€“ 15 percent in this period. Azerbaijan has 19 billion dollars of monetary resources now. 50 000 families receive targeted social aid and the program covers totally 700 000 people.

â€œWe are completely sure that our policy contributes to the interests of Azerbaijani peopleâ€, said the president. He said the results of the past nine months were good example for that. The head of state said oil incomes were directed toward the development of non-oil sector in Azerbaijan and poverty level was reduced. 824 000 new jobs have been created in Azerbaijan since 2003. The army-building measures were continued.

Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Education Misir Mardanov, Minister of Transport Ziya Mammadov, Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev reported about the socio-economic measures taken in the country within the nine months of this year.

President Ilham Aliyev said in his final speech that economic growth rate should be preserved. The head of state said the economic growth in 2003-2008 paved the way for future and expressed his confidence that successful economic indicators will be preserved in 2010.
â€œOur activity is also assessed by the international organizations. Otherwise, the World Bank would not have named Azerbaijan the top reformer in 2008,â€ he said.
Ilham Aliyev said the World Economic Forum declared Azerbaijan the 51st for competitiveness in the world and 1st in CIS.

President said the state budget for the next year was prepared on a balanced level, the price of a barrel of oil was set at $45. President gave instructions to accelerate the construction of Oghuz-Gabala-Baku water pipeline, Takhtakorpu and Shamkirchay reservoirs. He said Azerbaijan fully provides itself with energy and exports energy to other countries. Attention will be focused on alternative energy sources from next year.
â€œEcological measures will be strengthened,â€ Ilham Aliyev said.
President initiated to declare 2010 â€œYear of ecologyâ€ in Azerbaijan.
â€œModern standards should be applied in gas supply, reconstruction should be carried out in gas holders,â€ he said.
The head of state said Azerbaijanâ€™s gas will play a more important role in the energy security in future and noted that the countries of the region need Azerbaijanâ€™s energy resources.
President noted that the transit problem with Turkey impedes delivery of Azerbaijanâ€™s gas to Europe at full capacity.
â€œAzerbaijanâ€™s gas will be exported to Russia from next year, gas may also be exported to Iran in future,â€ he said.

Ilham Aliyev expressed his satisfaction with the outcomes of the nine months and underlined the importance of continuing the work to ensure national interests of the people.