Minister: Azerbaijan not to cut expenditures in case of oil price reduction

By  Trend

Under the new rules of the state budget, Azerbaijan will not reduce its expenditures in case of reduction in oil prices, Minister of Finance of Azerbaijan Samir Sharifov said during the discussion of the state budget for 2019 at a joint meeting of parliamentary committees on Nov. 5.

"When prices [of oil] decrease, we should not immediately reduce our expenditures, because this will deal a second blow to the economy," he said.

If Azerbaijan adheres to these rules, it will protect itself from great risks, according to Sharifov.

The revenues of the 2019 state budget of Azerbaijan are projected at 22.917 billion manats, including centralized revenues at 22.18 billion manats and local revenues at 736.766 million manats, while the expenses are expected at 24.78 billion manats, including centralized expenses at 23.939 billion manats and local expenses at 840.812 million manats.

The forecast for the oil price, indicated in the 2019 state budget for calculating oil revenues, is $60 per barrel.

Some 59.8 percent of the forecast state budget revenues or 13.7 billion manats will account for the oil sector, and 40.2 percent or 9.217 billion manats will account for the non-oil sector.