Azerbaijan sets up Economic Council
By Akbar Mammadov
Azerbaijan has established an Economic Council to protect the country’s macroeconomic stability and accelerate the socio-economic developments, the president’s press service has reported.
The council will make proposals to determine the direction of the economic policy and reforms aimed at preventing possible external and internal influences in the country’s economy.
President Ilham Aliyev signed the relevant decree on the “creation of a new management framework for economic policy and economic reforms in Azerbaijan” on September 9. With this decree, the previous decree signed the president dated July 15, 2016 “On Establishment of the Financial Stability Board of Azerbaijan” has been annulled.
The Economic Council will be chaired by the country’s Prime Minister.
The council will also make proposals for the formation of economic policy for the current and medium-term by studying the processes taking place in the global and national economy, including the fiscal and monetary sectors, as well as the financial and banking sector.
The reasons to establish the Economic Council is the new strategic policy challenges for the Azerbaijani economy that have been cause by decline in potential economic growth in the world economy in recent years, a significant increase in price volatility in commodity markets, increased fragility of global financial stability, in particular, the coronavirus pandemic.
Presidential Administration Department Heads of Economic Affairs and Innovative Development Policy and Economic Policy and Industry, Assistants to the First Vice President, Ministers of Economy, Finance, Labor and Social Protection, Chairman of the Central Bank and Executive Director of the State Oil Fund have been appointed members of the council.
The newly-set up council held its first meeting on September 10.
Prime Minister Ali Asadov noted during the meeting that the Economic Council is an advantageous institution for collegial discussion of the most difficult tasks in the difficult period for the world and national economy to come to a common opinion. It should be noted that the Economic Council has all organizational, economic and financial capabilities to perform the tasks set by the decree of the president.
Moreover, Asadov stated that on behalf of the head of state, the Economic Council should create a program on the economic policy framework.
It was noted that the main direction of the new period’s economic policy should be parallel to the state investments and the attraction of private local and foreign investments. In addition, the leading role of the private sector should be ensured, serious and radical steps should be taken to improve the investment environment.
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