11:54 - 15.07.2020

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July 15, Fineko/abc.az. Oil was a very important source of income for Azerbaijan. Oil wealth has allowed the country to develop its infrastructure and quickly rise among countries to become a middle-income country. However, the general international trends leading up to the current pandemic and the economic crisis it has caused suggest that the future economic development strategy should be diversified away from the current dependence on oil and gas.

Navid Nagvi, World Bank’s former representative on Azerbaijan, said about this in an interview for ABC.AZ.

According to Nagvi, the decline in oil prices should be considered as an opportunity to accelerate reform efforts.

"As far as I know, these efforts are already gaining momentum at the government level. It is only fair that the government is now focused on helping those most affected by this crisis and on rebuilding in order to protect the productive parts of the economy.

In the future, the country needs a medium-term development strategy focused on two things: improving the quality of skills and education, and improving the business environment, so that new private enterprises are created along with high-quality jobs. This is possible only if everyone in the country is provided with a good social protection system and a good health system, so that economic shocks do not lead people to irrevocable poverty."

By Elmir Murad