Budget Discussions Dragging On

Baku / 05.11.20 / Turan: Compared to 2020, Azerbaijan's expenditures in 2021 can be reduced by 1.6 billion manats. The revenues of the state budget of Azerbaijan in 2021 are projected at $ 24,327.0 million.

This figure is contained in the statement of the Ministry of Finance on preliminary indicators of state and consolidated budgets for 2021, which notes that 57.3 percent of revenues come from the oil sector, 42.7 percent from the non-oil sector.

Moreover, when calculating the consolidated and state budget revenues for 2021, the price of one barrel of oil was taken equal to USD 35. State budget expenditures in 2021 are projected at $ 25,847.5 million.

Despite the fact that the draft state budget for 2021 was being prepared in the Ministry of Finance for more than two months and was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, the discussion nevertheless dragged on.

What is the reason? Are there any discussions expected soon? Could there be any major changes in the project? What do deputies and experts think about this?

Member of the Milli Mejlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, Entrepreneurship, MP Vahid Ahmadov told Turan that a patriotic war is currently going on in the country and there is serious progress at the front: “This may be related to the delay in discussions on the draft budget for 2021. There are certain costs that change, and certain work is being done. Therefore, there is no such serious problem here," the deputy says.

The MP says that in the current conditions he is not a supporter of the discussion of the draft budget: “the most important thing for the people, nation, state Homeland and issue number 1 is the liberation of our lands,” he said.

V. Ahmadov emphasizes that all other issues will fall into place and find their solution after the restoration of territorial integrity.

Economist-expert Natiq Jafarli also told Radio Azadig that the main reason for the delay in the discussion of the draft budget for 2021 is the counter-offensive conducted by Azerbaijan and operations to liberate the lands from occupation.

He believes that following this operation, next year's budget can play an important role in establishing certain expenditure and revenue lines: “sufficiently large funds are needed for the security of the occupied territories, for carrying out restoration work, strengthening the borders not only with Iran, but also with Armenia. The likelihood of successful completion of these counter-attack operations, which could lead to quite serious changes in budget parameters, is high. Because in the budget for next year there is a high probability of new expenses related to defense, border protection and other areas."

Jafarli believes that the parameters of the draft budget may be open for parliamentary and public discussion in late November - early December this year.

The expert does not exclude that even if the draft budget is adopted in December, next year the probability of its revision remains high.

Speaking about the fact that the parameters of the budget for the next year were not fully disclosed, the economist highly appreciates the likelihood of changes in the project, both in terms of revenue and expenditure.

The expert emphasizes that both the fall in oil prices and the weakening of economic activity in connection with the pandemic and the closure of borders also affect income.

In his opinion, for these reasons, there is a high probability of serious changes in the parameters of budget revenues and expenditures.   –0—