Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

President Ilham Aliyev said 2012 was a successful year for Azerbaijan, citing high economic indicators, in his speech at a cabinet meeting Tuesday aiming to sum up the results of Azerbaijan's social and economic development last year and outline priorities for 2013, AzerTac state news agency reported.

The President said the country's Gross Domestic Product grew 2.2 per cent in 2012, with the non-oil industry seeing an 8 percent increase, agricultural production rising 6 percent, the population`s income growing 13.8 percent, and inflation staying at 1.1 percent.

President Aliyev said further that last year saw successful implementation of social programs. He also said investment spending exceeded $22 billion in 2012, adding that domestic investments dominated the country's investment portfolio.

The President said this year's budget amounts to a record $20 billion, with the country's overall currency reserves making up $46 billion.

President Aliyev highlighted the work done to build social infrastructure last year, noting that hundreds of schools, hospitals, sports and other facilities were constructed across the country.

Aliyev said most of the investment was made in improving the living conditions of refugees and the persons displaced during the 1990s war with Armenia, adding that the State Oil Fund -- which holds resource-rich Azerbaijan's oil revenues -- allocated 300 million manats (around $382 million) for this purpose in 2012.

The President praised the implementation of the state program on the development of the regions, which has allowed to open a total of 1.2 million new jobs, including 117,000 last year.

Aliyev said unemployment has been reduced to 5.2 percent, while the poverty level decreased to 6 percent last year.

The president also touched upon Azerbaijan`s foreign policy, saying last year marked a success for the country in this regard.

"Our most remarkable achievement was our chairing the UN Security Council," Aliyev added.

Speaking about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the President said the resolutions adopted at the meeting of the Non-Alignment Movement and NATO Summit clearly stipulated that the dispute had to be resolved in accordance with the territorial integrity of countries.

20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions, has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since the two South Caucasus republics fought a brutal war that displaced about a million Azerbaijanis. Peace talks, brokered by Russia, France and the U.S., the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have been mostly fruitless so far.

President Aliyev noted that the country's military spending exceeded $3 billion in 2012. He added that Azerbaijan's military budget would be $3.7 billion this year.

Highlighting the country's achievements in the energy sector in 2012, Aliyev described the launching of the Azerbaijan-initiated TANAP project as an historical and remarkable event, referring to the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline which is to carry Azerbaijan's natural gas across Turkey to Europe.

In conclusion, President Aliyev outlined the country`s priorities for 2013. He expressed confidence that this year will see the country's successful implementation of all projects and programs.

According to the President, the priorities in the 2013 investment projects will include improving power, gas and drinking water supply system and sanitation system, laying highways and redeveloping rural roads, and expanding irrigation work; maintaining macro-economic stability and one-digit inflation will be one of the key priorities as well.

The President said Azerbaijan's social budget was increased, adding that more than 70 medical facilities will be built and reconstructed, and schools redeveloped this year. Aliyev added that citizens' wages and pensions will also be raised in 2013.

He said corruption would be combated more rigidly in 2013 and instructed relevant bodies to step up public control and ensure transparency in this area.

Aliyev also noted that substantial work would be carried out to increase industrial output, adding that measures would be continued to create industrial centers and new technological parks in Ganja and Sumgayit, Azerbaijan's second and third-largest cities, and the Garadagh district in the capital Baku.

President Aliyev also spoke of preparations for the first European Olympic Games to be hosted by Baku in 2015.

He also said that next month will see Azerbaijan launch its first telecommunication satellite into the orbit and announced 2013 the year of information and communication technologies in Azerbaijan.

Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov, Economic Development Minister Shahin Mustafayev, and Deputy Prime Minister, chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Ali Hasanov also spoke at the cabinet meeting.

According to Minister Abbasov, apart from the Azerspace-1 satellite due to launch in February, launching a low-orbit satellite is scheduled for 2015. The launch of another telecommunication satellite is planned for 2016, Abbasov added.

Some 103 million manats (about $131 million) have been allocated for the implementation of a broadband Internet development project in Azerbaijan in 2013, Abbasov said.

He noted that the project is profitable and will be implemented in three phases. Starting from 2014, around 30-35 percent of the total project cost will be provided by reinvestment.

The main goal of the project is to provide remote regions of the country with broadband Internet with a speed of 10 to 100 Mbit/s and expand the number of users to 85 percent. Thus, Azerbaijan will reach the level of developed countries on this indicator by 2017.

Abbasov mentioned that Azerbaijan has maintained its leading position among the CIS countries in terms of broadband Internet penetration over the past three years.

According to him, Internet penetration rates increased from 65 to 70 percent in 2012. Operations were conducted to improve the quality of data transmission services. The capacity of international communication channels more than doubled compared to 2011 and prices were reduced by 35 percent.

According to the Economic Development Minister, the share of non-oil economy in GDP rose to 52.7 percent.

Mustafayev said commissioning some 100 industrial enterprises in 2012, including heavy machine building plants, the Ganja aluminum plant, cement plants in Nakhchivan and Garadagh, plants for sorting and incineration of solid waste, etc. as well as the continuing construction of over 90 industrial enterprises play a significant role in the development of the domestic non-oil sector.

"Electricity generation in the country grew by 6.9 percent; construction of power lines, installation of gas lines in residential areas and their capital repair continued. In the ​​alternative and renewable energy sector, Azguntex solar panels as well as Fuzuli and Gusar-1 hydropower stations were commissioned," Mustafayev said.

According to Mustafayev, the volume of information and communication services grew by 15.9 percent, while transportation by 3.5 percent, including the non-oil cargo by 3.5 percent, and retail trade by 9.6 percent. Inflation rate was 1.1 percent.

Over 11 months of 2012 Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover with 152 countries totaled $39.5 billion. The foreign trade balance was positive and amounted to $22.6 billion. Non-oil exports grew 11.2 percent. Strategic currency reserves amounted to $46 billion, which exceeds the external debt 10-fold.