The Current Strategy Of Non-Oil Sector Development – OpEd
By Asim Suleymanov
Does President Aliyev exaggerate when he claims that there is no other country that has developed like Azerbaijan over the past 14 years from an economic viewpoint? Is it true that on the way of diversification and fulfillment of the Development Concept “Azerbaijan 2020” our economy has become less vulnerable to oil prices, successfully overcoming the crisis and entering stable growth phase?
According to the January-October 2017 results, Azerbaijan’s non-oil gross domestic product (GDP) was 35.39 billion manat, which is 2.1% more compared to the same period of 2016. It shows that our country is taking serious steps forward towards developing agriculture sector, industry and non-resource exports.
It is necessary to underline the contribution of the Ministry of Economy to the promotion of the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand abroad. The Ministry of Economy, together with Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), are organizing export missions to priority foreign markets, that contributes to the expansion of Azerbaijan’s foreign economic relations and enhancement of export opportunities.
The last export mission was in St. Petersburg from November 15 to 17. At the same time, a business meeting between Azerbaijani and Russian businessmen was held in the Baku Business Center. The representatives of the business communities noted the importance of having a contractual legal framework between two countries. Consisting of more than 200 documents, it creates favorable conditions for the development of bilateral cooperation.
And the figures speak for themselves. According to the State Customs Committee, in January-October 2017 the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia totaled $1.656 billion, or 10.35% of Azerbaijan’s total volume of foreign trade. In comparison with the same period of 2016, trade turnover between the two countries increased by 7.7%. In general, Russia is the leading partner of Azerbaijan in non-oil economic sectors. During the period of cooperation, Russian investments in the economy of our country exceeded 3.7 billion dollars.Many experts believe that Azerbaijan will continue its dynamic development and ensure the growth of the population wellbeing, while pursuing a multi-vector policy and focusing on the relations with its neighbors.
