A meeting on the economic issues was held on September 26.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressed the meeting.

Remarks by President Ilham Aliyev

- At today's meeting, we will discuss economic issues, as there are only three months remaining until the end of the year. We will also exchange ideas on the tasks to be completed before year-end.

In general, I must say that economic development since the beginning of the year has been at the expected level. Earlier this year, when discussing the potential economic success, I expressed confidence that it would be a prosperous year for our economy. The results and economic indicators from the start of the year have confirmed my prediction. Our economy has grown by 4.3 percent. Considering the global processes and the current geopolitical landscape, this is a very positive indicator. Our growth rate surpasses that of many developed countries. Particularly noteworthy is the 7 percent growth in our non-oil sector, which highlights the success of our efforts to diversify the economy and implement well-considered reforms.

I should also note that in recent years, oil production under projects implemented by foreign oil companies has been declining year after year, which has naturally had a negative impact on our overall economic growth. However, we compensated for this decline through the development of the non-oil sector. As a result of negotiations with foreign oil companies, we highlighted the shortcomings in oil production, demanded they address these issues, and ensure stability in production. Significant efforts have been made in this direction over the past few months.

As a result of this work, there are reasonable hopes that further unwarranted declines in oil production will be avoided. Naturally, government bodies and the State Oil Company will continue to monitor the progress closely. This gives us optimism that the key factor hindering our economic growth will be resolved, and stable oil production will be ensured next year. Additionally, we are currently working on several new projects in the oil and gas sector, and based on their development, we have new production forecasts. By next year, we will likely see these new projects and fields producing larger volumes of natural gas and oil condensate. I am confident that growth in the oil and gas sector will be positive.

However, our primary goal remains to further diversify our economy and enhance the sustainable development model. Inflation has been just over 1 percent since the beginning of the year, which is a very positive indicator. I have already announced that the minimum wage and minimum pension will be increased next year, despite the low inflation rate and the significant financial resources required for national priorities - primarily the development of our military, the military-industrial complex, and the restoration of Karabakh and East Zangazur. Despite these challenges, we are committed to improving the well-being of our vulnerable citizens. In my recent speech at Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis, I presented these figures to the public. I won’t repeat how many large social reform packages have been implemented in Azerbaijan over the last five years. In other words, all these issues give grounds to say with absolute certainty that the rates of economic development will be maintained until the end of this year and – considering the fact that the discussion of next year's budget is currently underway and budget parameters will be more extensive – economic development will also be at an adequate level.

A number of promotion projects are underway to attract foreign investment, especially to the non-oil sector. The stability and predictability prevailing in Azerbaijan, as well as the strengthening of the state of Azerbaijan and the complete restoration of our territorial integrity and sovereignty, have naturally improved the attitude of foreign investors towards us, although there has been a very positive investment climate in Azerbaijan for many years. According to the per capita volume of investments, Azerbaijan is among the leading countries. In recent years, especially after the anti-terror operation and the complete restoration of our state sovereignty, a very positive signal was naturally sent to all investors, and we are now seeing the fruits of that. New enterprises are opening in our traditional industrial centers - Baku, Sumgayit, and industrial parks. At the same time, the creation of new industrial parks in liberated lands, in Aghdam and Jabrayil districts, should be viewed as a very positive development.

As I mentioned, the discussion of next year's budget is underway now, and it will be submitted to me soon. Of course, the budget is a reflection of our capabilities. We stretch our legs according to our blanket, as the saying goes, and must continue to do so. We are not receiving any aid from anywhere. On the contrary, we are reducing our foreign debt, and the implementation of the task I set a few years ago is successfully underway. In terms of foreign debt ratio to gross domestic product, Azerbaijan is among the world's leading countries. It accounts for only 7.5 percent, which allows us the opportunity to spend less on the repayment of foreign debt in the future. We will discuss this today and see if the early repayment of some debts could be useful. However, I have said several times that if we wanted to, we could zero the whole debt in one day. In any case, there will certainly be an exchange of views about this issue today.

Next year's main expenses have already been determined. In my speech in the Milli Majlis, the main priorities were clearly indicated. First of all, strengthening the military potential of our country, ensuring our security, protecting the state borders, developing the military-industrial complex, education costs, the reconstruction of Karabakh and East Zangazur, and other projects. Socially oriented projects, projects related to social infrastructure, and those related to general infrastructure—all these will be reflected in our State Investment Program. We will talk about this too. We must ensure that next year, to the extent possible, we accomplish all the key tasks. I have no doubt that this will be the case. Azerbaijan’s economic development model has already proven itself in the world. We have built a strong economy relying on our own resources. We have built a strong and independent economy, not dependent on anyone. Economic independence naturally gives us great opportunities at the international level, allowing Azerbaijan to conduct an independent foreign policy with success, confidence, honor, and dignity—as we have done and will continue to do.

We will discuss many other issues today. I am sure that the discussion and the results obtained, as well as the decisions to be made, will further accelerate our economic development.