ECONOMY
Azerbaijani President: “During the year, a total of $28 billion was invested in the country’s economy”
Baku, January 12 (AZERTAC). “During the year, a total of $28 billion was invested in the country’s economy. This is a record indicator. Never before has such an amount been invested in the course of one year. In the past few years the volume of investment averaged around $20-21-22 billion. Today we have a figure of $28 billion. Of these, $17.5 billion worth of investment is domestic. This trend has also been ongoing for several years. Domestic investment exceeds foreign investment. I think this is a positive development as well. Of course, the bulk of domestic investment is made up of public funds, but the private sector also invests heavily in the Azerbaijani economy,” said President Ilham Aliyev in a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers to discuss results of the country`s socio-economic development in 2013 and outline tasks for 2014.
“Our foreign exchange reserves have also reached record highs. I have repeatedly said this but I want to reiterate that our foreign exchange reserves should increase every year, and this is the case. Over the past few years has there hasn’t been a single year when our foreign exchange reserves declined. Even though numerous investment projects are under way, they grew last year as well. Currently, Azerbaijan's currency reserves constitute $50 billion. This accounts for 70 per cent of the gross domestic product. According to this index, Azerbaijan is in one of the most advanced places in the world. This has been created by us, by our policy and by our strength. This is a great advantage of Azerbaijan, which makes us confident, gives us faith and the opportunity to continue the implementation of large-scale projects contributing to the development of our country,” the Head of State added.