16,500 new jobs opened in first quarter

Azerbaijan's draft state budget for 2025 prioritizes strategic objectives outlined by President Ilham Aliyev, including economic growth, social development, and reconstruction of liberated territories, according to senior officials speaking at a parliamentary session on Monday.

The management of the Baku Metro often announces projects for new underground lines and stations, but official information never includes data on the cost of laying a kilometer of track or building specific metro stations. Journalists sometimes obtain details from unofficial sources, raising doubts about the reliability of such information. For instance, in 2021, an unofficial government source reported a cost of 60 million manats for planned construction of a single station on the Purple Line. This figure excluded finishing works, installation of communication lines, electronics, escalators, and elevators.

The Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan began discussions on Monday regarding the draft state budget for 2025, which projects expenditures of AZN 41.368 billion.

Azerbaijan’s livestock sector has demonstrated modest growth in domestic production, yet it faces significant challenges as imports of meat and dairy products surge. Recent data from the State Statistics Committee underscores this dichotomy, revealing increases in local output but an even sharper rise in imports, accompanied by persistent price inflation.