The Food Safety Agency has recognized the Iranian dried apricots as unfit for consumptionok

In late December, the Nakhchivan Court for Serious Crimes concluded the trial of former Minister of Finance of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (NAR), Rafael Aliyev, and former head of the Nakhchivan Customs Committee’s department, Mansur Askerov. Both were accused of embezzling state budget funds in collusion with others. In his testimony, Askerov revealed that illegal fees were being collected for cargo and from passengers. Sahat Habibbeyli, appointed head of Nakhchivan Customs in 2020, had instructed Askerov to include only a portion of the collected funds in the Transport and International Relations (TIR) program.

The "Republican Alternative" Party (REAL) has proposed a program to reform local governance ahead of the municipal elections on January 29, aiming to expand opportunities for economic activity at the municipal level. The new program has been developed with consideration of  the existing economic problems in the country. The government of Azerbaijan seeks to obtain external loans for its projects, the economic feasibility of which raises doubts.

On January 7, the head of state signed a decree to raise the salaries of employees in a number of budgetary organizations by 15% starting from January 1.

The Interior Ministry has lifted the ban on the mother of human rights defender Rufat Safarov, Tahira Tahirgyzy, from leaving the country. Today she, along with her seriously ill husband Eldar Sabiroglu, left for Turkey.