Pundit calls Azeri government to change policy in favour of foreign investment

An Azerbaijani economic expert has called on the government to change its economic policies in order to create a favourable environment for foreign investment, the website of pro-opposition Azadliq paper reported on 6 June.


Expert Mahammad Talibli said that poor conditions at home are driving Azeri entrepreneurs and businesses to make investments in foreign countries.


"It is important to provide [businesspeople] with some conditions for investing in the country. First and foremost, there must be political stability in the country. The country should be free from political disasters. In this case, stability means the stability based on more democracy. There should be a normal tax system. From the social view point, the people should have purchasing power," he added.


Talibli added that there should also be efficient laws to protect the rights of foreign investors in Azerbaijan.


He said that economic conditions worsened in Azerbaijan following two devaluations in 2015, which makes attracting foreign investment even more important.


Talibli also argued that the government should change its economic policies and create a favourable environment for foreign investment.


The report noted that 64 companies and 24 joint stock companies were created with Azerbaijani investment in Turkey in the first four months of 2016; in total 1700 companies are operating in Turkey with Azerbaijani investment.


Azerbaijan's economy has struggled since early 2015 due to falling oil prices. On 21 February 2015, the national currency - the manat - was depreciated by 34 per cent. On 21 December 2015, the bank further depreciated the manat against the dollar by 47.63 per cent.

www.ann.az