President Aliyev: Azerbaijan self-sufficient, has no economic difficulties

By  Trend

Today, from an economic point of view, Azerbaijan is a fully self-sufficient country and has no economic difficulties, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with TASS news agency.

The head of state noted that one of the main activities of the government was to ensure full economic independence, which is the basis for political independence.

“If a country is economically dependent, it may experience – and it often does – great difficulty in implementing its independent policy," said the president, adding that Azerbaijan has no such problems.

"I can provide some figures. Over the past 15 years, the economy has grown by 3.2 times in Azerbaijan, which, I think, is a world record. Meanwhile, despite huge investment projects, we have been working to stabilize the external debt, which today makes about 20 percent of GDP. And I gave instructions to significantly reduce it in the coming years,” President Aliyev said.

He added that the currency reserves of Azerbaijan make up the same volume as the gross domestic product.

“In other words, if needed, we can pay off all debts within a few days or months. The financial position of Azerbaijan is quite stable, and the investment projects that we are implementing will naturally bring additional profits. I should also note that over the past 15 years, more than $230 billion have been invested in the Azerbaijani economy,” President Aliyev added.