Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan's strategic currency reserves, which are held by the central bank and the state oil fund, are sufficient to overcome the potential impact of the global financial crisis, head of International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in the country and deputy director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, Nadeem Ilahi, said at a press conference in Baku Tuesday.

An IMF mission has been on a visit to the Azerbaijani capital since October 20, which ends November 2, to conduct consultations with the Azerbaijani government that take place every year.

"Oil revenues should be managed conservatively. The main thing is not to increase the risks, and the Azerbaijani government is well aware of that," Ilahi said.

Azerbaijan's strategic currency reserves currently exceed $40.5 billion, which covers four-year imports of goods and services into the country.

The currency reserves held by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan in the first nine months of the year reached over $6.943 billion and assets of the state oil fund SOFAR - $32.242 billion.

Azerbaijan's strategic currency reserves may reach 75 percent of GDP by the end of 2011, up from the current level of 65.7 percent.

On the ratio of strategic currency reserves to GDP, Azerbaijan holds one of the leading positions in the world. For example, the figure is 15.1 percent in Brazil, 32.8 percent in Russia, 22.6 percent in India, 47.6 percent in China, 39.4 percent in Kazakhstan, 31.5 percent in Qatar, 15.1 percent in Kuwait and 21.8 percent in Indonesia.