Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The third state program for the social and economic development of Azerbaijani regions will contribute to the dynamic development of the country's non-oil sector.

The news was announced by Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev in his recent interview with Trend Agency on February 17.

He also noted that the program will increase export-oriented and competitive production, improve the provision of infrastructure and communal services for the regions, and develop entrepreneurship and improve employment.

"The state program covers 2014-2018, and will be a logical continuation of the previous state programs," Mustafayev said.

The implementation of state programs for the regions' development was remembered for important social and economic results, the minister said.

"The scale, scope, and duration of the conducted work show once again that regions and towns, remote villages, and generally Azerbaijan are developing dynamically, the country's power is enhancing, and the welfare of the Azerbaijani citizens is increasing," he noted.

The previous state programs for the social and economic development of Azerbaijani regions covered 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The share of private sector in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) has exceeded 80 percent in this ten-year period.

The share of the private sector increased from 68 to 74 percent in employment and from 42 to 72.5 percent in tax revenues. The number of business entities has also increased by 2.5 times.

Azerbaijan has adopted successful measures on the sustainable improvement of the business and investment climate.

The Economy and Industry Ministry has allocated 1.2 billion-manat preferential loans to the projects of 19,000 entrepreneurs worth 2 billion manats through the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES) in the past 10 years.

In addition to that, over 500 industrial enterprises started operating in the regions in the past 10 years; they include technology and textile parks in Sumgayit, enterprises producing cement, marble and cars in Nakhchivan, cement and aluminum plants in Gazakh and Ganja, and some other enterprises.