On April 30, President of Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev chaired a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of the socio-economic development of the first quarter of 2019 and the upcoming tasks

The president of Republic of Azerbaijan made an opening statement at the event:

"As you know, the first decree I signed after the presidential election was the social protection of martyr families. It was a very significant Decree, and as a result of its implementation, more than 12,000 martyr families will receive 11,000 manats from the state."

"In the first quarter, Receipts Budget has increased dramatically - more than 200 million manats. More than 150 million manats have been received in the tax field and more than 50 million manats in customs. The good news is that the tax authorities have collected more than 136 million manats from the non-oil sector. This is a clear example of reforms."

The president also commented on social and economic policies. He noted:

"The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of the year increased by 3 percent. This is the highest figure in the last few years, and I am sure that this figure will increase by the end of the year. Industrial production increased by 4.4%. This is a good indicator. But better than that, industrial production in the non-oil sector increased by 15.6%. This is the result of what we have done, and it is an obvious example of our policy to increase industrial production, especially in the non-oil sector. The agricultural sector grew by 3.6% and household income by 5.5%. The Inflation rate is at a low level -2.1%. 2.8 billion dollars have been invested in the country's economy. 2 billion of this investment were invested in the non-oil sector of our country. As you know, the World Bank has ranked Azerbaijan in 25th place in the “Doing Business” report. We have progressed by 32 levels throughout the year and have been among the top 10 reformer countries in the world."

"The minimum wage and the minimum pension increased about 40%, social benefits increased on average 2 times, allowance for internally displaced people increased by 50%, scholarships for students, benefits given to martyr families and disabled people of Karabakh war went up as well."

"Another key issue was about problem loans. This issue was solved at the highest level in Azerbaijan. As you know, several years ago, oil exporting countries faced big problems as oil prices dropped dramatically by about four times. In those countries, values of the national currencies have dropped, including in Azerbaijan. This was inevitable. However, we could stabilize the situation in a short time. We do our utmost for the welfare of the Azerbaijani citizen. So this issue which affected 100 thousands of people was also successfully resolved. That is, the compensation process has already begun and I'm sure it will be finalized in a short time."

"The other issue was related to the houses built in time, but were not came to use. Citizens living in multistorey buildings suffered because there was not done any paperwork related to those buildings, there were some defects. That is why the Decree has been signed on this issue and now the commission works. The process of documentation of apartments has already started."

"Thus, as a result of these activities, three million people benefited from the signed decrees, the financial situation of citizens has improved, and the problems that troubled them have been resolved.'

"In January of this year, the Fourth State Program on Socio-economic Development of the Regions was adopted. This is also a very important event. The third programs has been successfully implemented. As a result of the implementation of the three programs, many important issues have been solved in our country, including social infrastructure. Over 3,200 schools were built and repaired. We have school funds of around 5,000. Most of them have been reconstructed, and this process continues. More than 640 medical institutions have been built and reconstructed."

The president pointed out increment in investments and infrastructure developments. He expressed:

"Today, Azerbaijan is one of the world's leading countries according the level of gasification by 95%. We have gas pipelines in the most remote mountain villages. However, this is economically profitless. We can never meet these costs with the lowest gas tariff that of existing in Azerbaijan. I must say that natural gas tariffs in Azerbaijan are one of the lowest in the world, two or three times lower than some of the neighbor countries. Now we have about 3-4% of our settlements that do not have gas."

"These year large industrial enterprises have been opened. The openings of two large plants - carbamide and high density polyethylene plants greatly boost our industry potential. Hundreds of new jobs have been created in these plants."

"Now, the number of investments and those who want to invest increase. Foreign entrepreneurs apply. Attitudes of the leaders of large companies I have recently met during my visit to the People's Republic of China were also very positive."

"We have held a number of prestigious international events since the beginning of this year. Among them I would like to note the VII Global Baku Forum. This is one of the most prestigious forums in the world today. More than 500 guests representing 50 countries participated in this forum. Among them there were about 50 former or current heads of states and governments.
OPEC + meeting was held in Baku on our initiative. As you know, Azerbaijan is not only a participant of this initiative, but it also is one of the authors of this initiative - if it is possible to say so. This is because the OPEC Secretary General's statements of that time in Baku shows that. I never said it myself. However, he officially stated that when presenting at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2016 while answering the panel, I said that the optimal option for the oil price regulation is the joint action of OPEC and non-OPEC countries. They should agree that the price of oil remains constant. Production should decrease and everyone should do it. Under this condition oil prices may rise. If the oil price was around $ 30, then, today it costs about $ 70."

"This year the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council has traditionally been held in Azerbaijan. This meeting has an important meaning. Because this annual event will allow us to consider what has been done and, most importantly, to exchange views on what to do, to develop a joint action plan."

"Among the social issues, of course, the problems of internally displaced people are always in the spotlight. This year 810 IDP families are moved to the new modern settlement. This process will continue.This is one of our top-priority issues."

"However, there is no change in our position of Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Our principal position is that this issue should be resolved in accordance with the Helsinki Final Act and UN Security Council Resolutions on the basis of the decisions and resolutions adopted by international organizations within the territorial integrity of our country," Ilham Aliyev concluded.

Translation Islam Mammadov