President Ilham Aliyev: Today Azerbaijan is one of few countries, which is independent both economically and politically

"We need a solid economy to make all these achievements possible. We have long become a nation that is independent economically. Today Azerbaijan is one of the few countries, which is independent both economically and politically,” President Ilham Aliyev said in his address on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year, Qazet.az reports

“This year's economic performance in the post-pandemic period is satisfactory. For example, our economy has grown by about 5%, with the non-oil sector growth recorded at more than 9%. At the same time, our GDP this year reached a record AZN 130 billion. This is a historic achievement. In parallel, our foreign debt has been significantly reduced. A few years ago, I set a goal for the government to reduce our foreign debt to less than 10% of the GDP. Last year it was 17%, the latest figures for this year show the rate of 9.5%. By comparison, in some developed countries, the volume of foreign debt is 100, 120, or even 150% of the GDP,” the head of state added.