Baku sums up first quarter results amid pandemic

Yesterday in Baku, in a video conference format, they summed up the results of the first quarter of 2020. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the year began successfully, reforms yielded good results, but a recession began in March. "Coronavirus is a big disaster, all countries of the world are experiencing problems, but as a result of preventive measures and a well-thought-out policy in Azerbaijan, the situation remains under control ... The health system of no country can withstand the growing dynamics of these patients. This should serve as a lesson for us," - said the president.

"Coronacrisis"

“As for the negative impact of the pandemic on the country's economy, this is inevitable. The leadership of the International Monetary Fund notes that the crisis that arises from the pandemic will be harder than the crisis of 2008-2009. More than 150 countries have already requested help from the IMF and the World Bank. “Azerbaijan is not on this list, but the impact of the pandemic on the economic situation is inevitable,” Ilham Aliyev said. In this regard, the President of Azerbaijan instructed the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and the Minister of Economy to revise government spending and reduce non-priority spending, as well as to find new sources of income. In addition, we are talking about the application of the mechanism of strict control over the expenditure of funds.

"We must take steps to ensure economic and macroeconomic stability. First of all, we need to solve the problems of citizens suffering from this situation, and we solve them," the president said. Large funds were allocated for this purpose, the state provides support to more than 600 thousand people who have temporarily lost their jobs due to a pandemic. A significant part of the salaries of these people is paid by the state. At the same time, problems associated with unemployment are being resolved, and people who have lost their jobs are already enrolling en masse. In recent months, the number of people receiving targeted social assistance has increased - today there are more than 70 thousand.

Domestic policy

Recently, personnel transformations have been carried out in the presidential administration, cabinet of ministers, and parliament. "The reforms carried out in all branches of government pursue one goal: to further improve the governance mechanism, of course, pursue a rejuvenation policy and appoint professional staff to responsible positions," Ilham Aliyev explained.

The logical continuation of these reforms was the parliamentary elections held in February. After the election, the composition of the parliament is significant, and the governing bodies have completely changed. For the first time in history, an opposition representative was elected to the post of deputy chairman of the Milli Majlis. "Representatives of the opposition head parliamentary committees - both as chairpersons and deputy. This is an important step that paves the way for a new configuration of the political system ... Our goal is to create a political system so that for all political forces, regardless of different views, one idea remains sacred “Statehood, independence, freedom, prosperity and development,” the president said. He expressed satisfaction with the fact that the opposition parties reacted positively to the proposal for dialogue.

Foreign policy

The participation of Ilham Aliyev in the security of the Munich Security Conference led to positive results. There he managed to convey to a wide audience as a historical truth about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "Given that for the first time in history, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia conducted live debates, then there was great interest in them ... The results of the Munich conference debunked Armenian propaganda and put an end to false information," the President of Azerbaijan said.

In this regard, he also mentioned the "election of the NKR President." According to Ilham Aliyev, they once again showed that no one recognizes this illegal junta regime: "Leading international organizations did not recognize them. A statement was made by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - America, France, Russia, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the EU and even the European Parliament taking a biased position against us: NATO, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Turkic Council - all these organizations unite, one might say, the absolute majority of the world ... All these organizations did not recognize "in the elections "and once again showed that Nagorno-Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan."

Speaking about international events, Ilham Aliyev noted the emergency summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, held at the initiative of Azerbaijan in the form of a video conference. The Turkic Council remains the only organization that held a summit on the coronavirus at the level of heads of state.

Housekeeper and social sphere

In the first two months of the year, Azerbaijan’s GDP grew by almost 3%, growth in the non-oil sector amounted to about 7%. But if you take three months, the gross domestic product increased by 1.1%, while in the non-oil sector it grew by a little more than 3%. If there were no coronavirus, growth would be taller. Inflation is at 3%, while household incomes grew by almost 7%.

Until the end of the year, not a single program in the social sphere will be reduced. On the contrary, the total support package for the coronavirus is provided in the amount of 2.5 billion manat ... All social payments are made. An increase in the average monthly wage by 28% and the average pension by about 27% indicates that positive work is being done in this direction. Now the average monthly salary is 712 manat, the average pension is 295 manat, and the old-age pension is close to 330 manat. “This year, all social infrastructure facilities will be built without reductions. At least 7,000 displaced families will be resettled in new apartments, at least 1,500 martyr families will be provided with new apartments,” Ilham Aliyev said.

On the whole, positively evaluating the results of the past three months, he emphasized that it is necessary to take all possible measures to overcome the consequences of the economic crisis.