On October 6, an event on Development Financing: Post-COVID Sustainable and Green Recovery was held with the organizational support of the National Coordinating Council for Sustainable Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Economy and the Delegation of the United Nations (UN) Development Program in Azerbaijan.
At the event, issues of sustainable development financing, new calls for the implementation of development priorities in the post-pandemic period in Azerbaijan, opportunities to promote the environment that ensures the stability and quality of the economy through "green" sources, and ways to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were discussed.
The Minister of Economy, Deputy Chairman of the National Coordinating Council for Sustainable Development, Mikayil Jabbarov, provided information about the measures implemented in the past period in our country in the direction of achieving sustainable development goals and transition to a "green economy", their financing, support mechanisms applied for the purpose of protecting economic stability, macroeconomic stability and jobs during the pandemic. It was noted that the fluctuations in the world energy markets, the mandatory restrictions imposed due to the pandemic had a negative impact on the economy, including the realization of the SDG in our country. In order to minimize these effects, the government of Azerbaijan presented a socio-economic support package in the amount of 2.7 billion dollars, which is more than 6 percent of the GDP for economic development and social support measures.
The Minister of Economy noted the positive results of the support measures. He also emphasized that the recovery process in the economy has started, GDP increased by 3.6 percent in real terms in the 8th month of 2021, non-oil exports increased by 40 percent from the beginning of the year, it will exceed 2.2 billion dollars by the end of 2021. In the last 10 years, the non-oil and gas sector has become the main factor of growth and development of the national economy. During this period, the volume of direct foreign investments in the country's economy was close to 57 billion dollars, the specific weight of the non-oil and gas sector in the GDP increased from 48 percent to 70 percent.
The minister pointed out that the restoration of our territories freed from occupation as a result of the Great Victory won in the Patriotic War in 2020 creates new challenges and realities for the country's development priorities. It was noted that the achievement of the important socio-economic and environmental goals facing our country in the new era by the head of state, formulating an effective policy, "Azerbaijan-2030: National Priorities for socio-economic development" was approved by the head of state at the beginning of this year in order to restore our liberated territories, and these priorities are closely aligned with the goals of the SDG.
The Minister of Economy said that the project "Strategy of socio-economic development in 2021-2025" has been prepared within the framework of the implementation of National Priorities, and the document will be discussed in the Economic Council in the near future. Implementation of the strategy will lead to changes in 4 main directions. As a result of increasing the profitability of state companies, ensuring competitive and transparent activity, efficient spending of state funds, increasing the state's debt stability and other measures, the state sector of the economy will enter a new quality stage, and economic management will be further improved. It was noted that as a result of the measures to be implemented, the average annual real growth rate of GDP in the next mid-term period is predicted to be 4.2 percent, and the average annual real growth rate of non-oil GDP is predicted to be 5.2 percent. By 2025, it is aimed to double non-oil exports, to increase the share of the private sector in the GDP to 88 percent, and the share of SMEs in the GDP of the non-oil and gas sector to 35 percent. According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Economy, the real growth rate of GDP in the current year is expected to be 4.8 percent.
The Minister said that the implementation of Azerbaijan's obligations under the SDGs is one of the components of the state policy, that the National Coordinating Council for Sustainable Development has been established in order to form the implementation mechanism, effective cooperation has been established with local and international partners, the state programs covering the socio-economic and environmental fields in the country. He emphasized that the strategies and action plans are adapted to the goals and objectives of the SDGs. Azerbaijan was the first country in the region to submit 3 Voluntary National Reviews to the UN High-Level Political Forum in the direction of the SDG implementation. In March of this year, it was brought to attention that the "Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework document for 2021-2025" was signed between the UN and Azerbaijan.
Touching on the financing of the SDGs, the minister noted that the actions to be implemented with the UN in the next 5-year period and the implementation of the "2021-2025 socio-economic development strategy" are the road map in this field. In the post-pandemic period, there is a lack of funding in developing countries. The demand for financing is increasing. From this point of view, we face challenges related to the efficient use of financial sources and funds. It was noted that in order to further strengthen the existing potential, it is important to join the process of international investors, donor organizations, private and state companies with large resources and to expand the public-private sector partnership. It was emphasized that there is a need to finance measures to restore economic activity and create jobs in our territories freed from occupation. "Smart city" and "smart village" concepts, "green energy zone" projects will be implemented in these areas. Currently, this process is being continued in Zangilan region, and the concept of "smart village" is planned to be applied in other regions as well.
Alessandro Fracassetti, the resident representative of the United Nations Development Program for Azerbaijan, made a speech and expressed his confidence that the projects implemented as a result of successful cooperation between the Government of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Development Program are an important step towards achieving sustainable development and that this cooperation will continue in the coming years. Alessandro Fracassetti noted that there is a unique opportunity to make systemic changes in Azerbaijan in the direction of financing "green growth" and Sustainable Development Goals for the purpose of sustainable investments. The resident representative of the United Nations Development Program for Azerbaijan noted that the single financing framework can be an important tool in this regard. He noted the importance of the cooperation of state, private and international organizations in the financing of the SDG, in addition to the government, international organizations and financial institutions also participate in this framework. Emphasizing that "green investments" will contribute to the fight against climate change, Alessandro Fracassetti said that the development and stability of the economy by using "green sources" has become global and this mechanism will play an important role in the coming period.
The event continued with a panel session. In the panel session moderated by Huseyn Huseynov, the head of the department of the Ministry of Economy, Deputy Minister of Energy Elnur Soltanov, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Vugar Karimov, Deputy Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Nasir Sadigov, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Azerbaijan Charu Bist, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan Gulnara Aslanbeyli expressed their opinion on the discussed topic.
