President Instructs to Reduce External Debt

Baku / 11.01.18 / Turan: In the years to come, work should be done to reduce the country's external debt, President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday.

According to him, one should not borrow finance for "not very important" projects.

"Loans can be taken only for technologically important projects. From now on, we should pursue a stricter policy in this regard," he said.

The President said that in 2017, 221 thousand new jobs were opened, of which 177 thousand are permanent. At the same time, he admitted that 47 thousand jobs had been closed last year and it is necessary to analyze the reasons for this.

"Unemployment in Azerbaijan is 5%, and poverty is 5.4%, which is one of the best indicators in the world," he said.

Ilham Aliyev said that exports in 2017 grew by 19%, and non-oil exports increased by 24%.

The President expressed his satisfaction that the number of tourists to the country is growing.

"Additional measures will be taken to develop tourism. In 2016, tourist growth was 24%, and in 2017 the number of tourists increased by another 20%, amounting to 2.7 million people."

Tourists spent 70% more money than in the previous year on bank cards.

"Azerbaijan satisfies most of its needs through its domestic production. The trade surplus is 6.2 billion dollars, and I am sure that in the next years the trade surplus will be maintained," he said. -71D-