Media Review November 23, 2018

The Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan relations, a look at solving problem loans, declining birth rates in the country, and whether discounts in stores are real are the leading topics of today's media.

The Azerbaijan newspaper discusses the Azerbaijani-Turkmen relations against the background of the visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Turkmenistan. The author calls this visit the beginning of a new stage in the development of strategic relations between the countries.

Whereas in 2014 the trade turnover between the countries amounted to 51 million dollars, in 2017 it was 164 million dollars.

According to the expert Vugar Bayramov, a new stage in the relations began after the signing of a document on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, after which the issue of joint development of fields at sea was dropped.

The newspaper Yeni Musavat continues to write about problem loans, discussing with the expert Rashad Hasanov the question of whose debts can be written off. The total amount of problem loans in Azerbaijan is about 2 billion manat.

The expert recalls the write-off of debts to the citizens of Georgia and also calls the leadership of Azerbaijan to do this. It is also necessary to put the difference between those who are not willing to pay debts, and those who cannot, the expert believes. According to him, currently more than 14% of the loan portfolio are problem loans.

The website Oxu.az writes about the demographic situation in the country, since for the period from 2011 to the beginning of 2018 there is a decrease in fertility by 40-50 thousand. Decline in fertility may be associated with social problems, the author writes.

The Milli Mejlis discussed the issue of providing material assistance, since the reproduction of offspring occurs at the expense of poor and middle-income families. It is to them that the MPs offer to provide material assistance.

It was proposed to increase the lump-sum assistance to 200 manat, and issue monthly allowances for children up to 12 years.

The website Bizim Yol writes about Friday as the traditional day of discounts in shops. The author argues on the reality of discounts in stores in general. Experts believe the discount day of Friday is not particularly expected in Azerbaijan, since the presence of such a day is mainly known by young people.

A total of 50-70% of customers believe that discounts are unreal. In addition, under the guise of discounts, shops often sell substandard products from the shelves.