Experts: in 2015, Azerbaijan faced economic turmoil

A sharp aggravation of the economic situation against drop in oil prices and devaluation of the national currency (manat) were the main outcomes of 2015 in Azerbaijan, said the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". They also agree that in 2015 Azerbaijan saw a worsening of human rights situation as compared with 2014.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 21, the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) transferred the manat into the floating regime, explaining it by sharp fall in oil prices. The manat got depreciated against the dollar and the euro by almost half. Baku saw a suspension of trade at stores and the closure of currency exchange offices.

In the opinion of Mukhammed Talybly, the head of the NGO "Institute of Economic Analysis", the year 2015 will be remembered in Azerbaijan "by a series of economic perturbations."

According to his version, in 2016, the rate of the manat versus the US dollar will continue dropping, which is due, among other things, with the authorities' unreadiness for the crisis. Mr Talybly also predicts a rise in unemployment.

Natig Jafarli, an economist and the executive secretary of the movement "Republican Alternative" (ReAl), believes that the authorities' measures aimed to minimize the consequences of the economic crisis proved to be ineffective; as a result, social tensions may scale up.

Mr Jafarli considers it necessary to carry out political and economic reforms and ensure the independence of the judiciary, in order to win investors' confidence.

Arzu Abdullayeva, a co-chair of the Helsinki Civil Assembly (HCA) and the head of its Azerbaijani National Committee, has noted, in her turn, that Azerbaijan must respect its commitments in the sphere of human rights.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.