(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Trend
Azerbaijan's nonhydrocarbon sector is expected to increase by 4 percent in 2018, Chief of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Mission to Azerbaijan Mohammed El Qorchi said following the completion of the visit to the country.
An IMF team led by Mohammed El Qorchi visited Baku from November 30 to December 14 to hold discussions in the context of the 2018 Article IV Consultation.
Qorchi said that growth prospects are positive in the near term. He added that with expanding public investment and social spending, the nonhydrocarbon sector is expected to increase by 4 percent in 2018. The hydrocarbon sector, on the other hand, will continue to contract.
'Overall, growth is projected at 2 percent in 2018, and should range between 3.5 to 4 percent in the medium term as new natural gas fields come online. As base year effects wear off, inflation should decline to 7 percent in 2018, and gradually recede. Although the restructuring of the banking sector is not complete, risks to the outlook are broadly neutral, he said.
He stressed that the economy has stabilized in 2017 thanks to active macroeconomic policies and stronger oil prices.
'The nonhydrocarbon economy started to expand mainly due to reviving service and agriculture sectors. Higher oil prices, better nonhydrocarbon exports, and import compression have also restored the current account surplus, he said.For 2017, the mission now projects real GDP to contract by 0.3 percent.
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