Press Review 10/10/2016

Uncontested leadership of Ilham Aliyev, the situation in the agricultural sector, and the real estate market problems are the leading topics of today's press.

The Azerbaijan newspaper writes about the uncontested leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. The author recalls the presidential election of 2013, claiming that the philosophy of Ilham Aliyev’s activity is service to the people. The current head of state does not have competitors who could join him in the election race. The author also gives an overall assessment of the 2003-2013 election period.

The site of the newspaper Azadlig, Azadliq.info has published an article entitled "The Azerbaijani government does not know what it wants," which discusses the economic situation in the country with an expert Vahid Maharramli. The expert thinks the problem is in the management of the country and no more, because Azerbaijan has all conditions to provide itself with food and not to buy almost all abroad.

At the last meeting of the Cabinet on the results of 9 months, it was confirmed that Azerbaijan is dependent on grain imports. The expert argues that the government has not defined the priorities in agriculture and does not know what it wants, because it has no agricultural strategy.

Echo writes about the recession and the rise in the country's property market. Experts say the two devaluations have strongly influenced the real estate market. According to Nusrat Ibrahimov, the highest prices for the past 10 years were in 2014. In 2015, a square meter of housing in Baku cost AZN 1,487, but there was almost no sale or purchase. Problems in the foreign exchange market have a negative impact on the real estate market. The property market will remain passive still a year from now, experts say.