18:02 - 29.11.2019

---

November 29, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijan State Oil Fund’s revenues from its management are growing. This is a very good indicator. This year – given the fact that this year has not yet over - the revenues of SOFAZ have grown more than by $4 bn, and $1.8 bn of them is income received from the management of SOFAZ. I’m sure every year our foreign exchange reserves are going to increase.

The above-said statement was made by President Ilham Aliyev on 29 November during his meeting with Israfil Mammadov in connection with his appointment as SOFAZ executive director.

"Currently, our strategic foreign exchange reserves exceed $50 bn. This is a record, a historical figure. This indicator is important precisely because it exceeds our GDP. Such cases are now observed in very rare countries. At the same time our external debt makes only 17% of GDP, and our country occupies the 9th place in the world on this indicator. Country’s budget for 2020 envisage oil price at the level of $55, and this is also a very conservative approach. Currently, the price of Azerbaijani oil Azeri Light approaches to $70. We apply the oil price of $55 to raise more money for the country’s budget. For example, if we take $65, this money will go to the budget in the form of a transfer and will be spent. There is no necessity in that. Now, thanks to transparency and reforms, we provide the budget through other spheres. Tax and customs authorities collected AZN 850 million of additional funds for the past 10 months. There is time until the end of the year, and this figure is expected to grow, so we should save on SOFAZ’s revenues. In short, this is a very correct approach, well-thought-out policy and steps taken in the interests of the people, as in many areas in Azerbaijan, have allowed us to achieve this excellent result," the country’s president emphasized.