Press Review August 17, 2018

The development of entrepreneurship in the country, the ratio of the exchange rate between the dollar and national currencies, the quality of education, and the dependence of the economy on oil are the leading topics of today's media.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about the development of entrepreneurship and the support rendered to it by the state. According to statistics, 50.2% of investments directed to the economy fell to the share of the private sector. The National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support has allocated AZN 2.2 billion to businessmen. This year, it is planned to allocate a loan for AZN 170 million on preferential terms. Due to the support to entrepreneurship and the development of the non-oil sector, growth in the non-oil industry amounted to 8.8%, in the agriculture - 7.6%, in the communications and information services - 4.9%, and in the trade - 2.5%.

The website Musavat.com discusses with the expert Parviz Heydarli the situation with the falling of the national currencies of Russia, Iran and Turkey. These countries said they would refuse operations in dollars, would conduct operations in national currencies, and would also replace the dollar with the euro and the Chinese yuan. However, the expert believes that this is unrealistic, since the transition to trade in national currencies requires a mechanism for determining the criteria by which the conversion will be carried out.

The website Modern.az writes about the decline in the quality of education in the country. This year, 44,772 students passed exams in universities. The right to be called students was won by 39,906 people. The expert Nadir Israfilov notes that of almost 40,000 students about 30,000 are enrolled on a paid basis. This, according to the expert, is too much. The expert believes that the fact that some 80 specialties in state universities are paid is abnormal, as such a thing exists nowhere else in the world. This is the main cause of brain drain from the country. The quality of education is low, and the fee is high.

The newspaper Novoye Vremya writes that the economy of Azerbaijan still depends on oil. In January-July, 2018, the country's main investments in the economy amounted to 7,457.3 million manat, the State Statistics Committee said. Compared to the same period last year, investment fell by 17.9%. According to the results of January-June this year, the annual economic growth in the country was 1.3%. 19,152, 6 million manat of GDP for 7 months accounted for the share of the oil sector, and 24,326 million manat - for the non-oil sector. The economy of Azerbaijan is mainly based on oil and a little on oil products, with little exceptions. The fact is that the current model of the Azerbaijani economy depends entirely on oil. Given the production of 40 million tons of oil per year, it will last for a maximum of 50 years, and gas will last for 80 years. -0-.