Press Review 05/24/2016

The development of non-oil sector of the country, the situation with the execution of social projects, Azerbaijan's relations with international organizations, and the US activation in the South Caucasus are the themes of today's media.

The official newspaper Azerbaijan writes about a new stage in the development of the non-oil sector, calling the first stage a success. It was since the beginning of this year that more attention has been paid to the development of the non-oil sector. Enterprise development, investment, and creation of new jobs will contribute to the development of this sphere.

Azadlig gives expert comments by Nemat Aliyev on the statement by the Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov, who said the implementation of social projects has not been suspended. For example, last year's budget expenditures were executed at 83% (17 billion manats against 21 billion).

He also notes that in recent years the scale of social projects greatly reduced. The expert believes the minister in his statement was referring to pensions and social benefits. However, tomorrow problems may arise in this field because the state lacks a large income.

Echo: As the head of the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies Nariman Agayev said, the living wage set for today in Azerbaijan does not meet modern economic realities, and it is impossible to live on this. "The subsistence minimum for an adult working in Azerbaijan should be equal to 600 manats, or 20 manats per day. For a child it normally has to be 400 AZN per month. Therefore, the consumer basket for children needs to be reviewed.

 In turn, the economist Ogtay Hagverdiyev noted the cost of living is very low in the country. "A family cannot live on the 146 manats established by the state. This sum is designed to be just able to survive and not starve to death. The subsistence level, taking into account the realities of our country, for a family of four persons, regardless of age, must be equal to 1,000 manats.

Novoye Vremya recalls the visit of Stephen Shennack to Azerbaijan, which was to estimate the situation. The results of the visit from 5 to 9 April will be reported at the meeting of the PACE Monitoring Committee.

A summary report on the visit has already been unveiled. Shennack called on the Azerbaijani authorities to fulfill the commitments made to the Council of Europe. But these calls are not other than protocol statements, which are quickly forgotten. In recent years, the Parliamentary Assembly has become a political body, which serves geopolitical interests of the countries whose representatives "book music" in PACE. To be perfectly frank, it should be noted that not only PACE, but also OSCE and the Council of Europe have become a tool of the West, by which the latter achieves its geo-strategic tasks.

Yeni Musavat discusses the recent revitalization of the USA in the South Caucasus. Experts believe that Washington has decided not to give the region to Russia's monopoly.

In this sense, the US exercises in Georgia and the American activity at the Vienna meeting on Karabakh are evident. Experts note that the United States believes Russia hinders settlement of the conflict. Now, however, the US position is activated, and it is regarded as support for Azerbaijan.