11:55 - 18.12.2019

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December 18, Fineko/abc.az. If in 2017 the total volume of external debt servicing made up 11% of the State Budget, by 2025 this threshold will be reduced to 6.2%.

ABC.AZ reports that the statement was made by Vusal Gasimli, executive director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms & Communications, when commenting on the Law on State Budget 2020, endorsed by the country’s president.

He noted that after financing our priority projects, the ratio of external public debt to GDP, having reached the highest threshold, began to return back.

According to Gasimli, in the coming years the reduction of the existing external public debt will be greater than the raised new debts, and gradually the ratio of external public debt to GDP will decrease by 12.0% in 2025.

"Azerbaijan is among the best countries in the world on the ratio of external debt to GDP. Currently, our strategic foreign exchange reserves are 6-fold higher than our external debt. External debt, interests, refinancing and operational risks are analyzed so that there are no threats. Credit ratings of Fitch, Moody’s and Standard Poors rating agencies for Azerbaijan create a basis for attracting loans on favorable terms. However, the President's position is that Azerbaijan's already small external debt should become even smaller. And the ratio of domestic public debt to expenditures for servicing the State Budget in Azerbaijan has never reached 1%, and in the coming years this trend will be maintained," Gasimli believes.