Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the economic development of the country should no longer be based on the oil sector, the press service of the head of state said.
"Oil prices have fallen fourfold. Of course, this is a big test for the oil-producing countries. But the countries which do not have natural resources also have difficulties, as traditional markets can no longer buy their products as in previous years. Therefore, I believe that we have to build our economic development only on the basis of the non-oil sector," the president said.
Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan's state budget will be adjusted based on $25 per barrel. "The budget will be amended, and we will implement all the necessary social and investment projects with a minimum level of oil prices of $25," the head of state stressed.
At the same time, despite the fact that the region is suffering from the economic and military and political crisis, Azerbaijan is also "a space of stability," he added.
Ilham Aliyev expressed confidence that the current year will bring Azerbaijan successes in socio-economic development. "Although our revenues declined significantly, we need to work even more effectively. I am confident that we will achieve economic growth through the development of the agricultural, processing and industrial sectors," he said.
"We need to completely eliminate the dependence on the oil factor in a few years. I am confident that we will achieve this. In this case, we will overcome any crisis and will ensure the successful and sustainable development of our country. Therefore, at this stage, the priority issues are business development and a deepening of fundamental reforms," Ilham Aliyev noted.
The head of state clarified that all the financial and economic mechanisms in Azerbaijan should be built on the basis of the experience of the leading countries of the world. "Our main task is development of the financial and economic sector, which will allow us to be independent from oil prices," he explained.
The President said that the development of the regions plays the main role. "In 2004, when the first regional development program was approved, I said that the development of our country should depend on the non-oil sector. Many important projects have been implemented in all the regions, including the western region," Ilham Aliyev pointed out.
"Therefore, I am convinced that 2016 will be successful. We have all the possibilities: socio-political stability, unity between the people and the authorities, and well thought-out economic policies," he believes.
But the head of state is pessimistic about the prospects of the continuing economic crisis in the world. "The world economy is engulfed by the ongoing crisis. Participating in the World Economic Forum and the Security Forum, I understood that the end of this crisis is not visible yet," Prezident.az cited Ilham Aliyev as saying.
The president of the Baku Interbank Currency Exchange, Farkhad Amirbekov, said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that a strong state, which makes it possible to modify the economy, is the key to the development of a non-raw material economic model. "Other things are secondary, including private property, which appears only when there is a state, because private property should be protected. Therefore, the strengthening of state institutions, especially the legal system, is the current task of any nationally oriented elite, there is no doubt about it. No one can protect you better than your own country," the expert noted.
"According to existing studies of the economic school of institutionalism, the development of democracy in the conditions of a weak state and a weak legal system does not lead to economic development. The main thing is a strong legal system, strong state institutions and gradual democratization, which depend directly on the welfare of the citizens and business development," Farkhad Amirbekov explained.
