Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova announced while opening the scheduled spring-session plenum on 16 March that that was the fifth sitting and that, pursuant to the Constitution, the Cabinet of Ministers was going to report on its work done during 2020 today.

Last year became one of the most brilliant pages in the history of national statehood and independence: the Armed Forces led by the Commander-in-Chief and President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev sealed a victory in the 44-day Patriotic War of the nation and made the national territory whole again. The de-occupation of the truly, historically Azerbaijani land of Garabagh opened completely new horizons for our country, according to Madame Chair.

The esteemed President Aliyev said at the 2020 summary meeting, ‘Our superb Victory demonstrated our will and the tenacity of our people to the whole world. It displayed the might of the Azerbaijani State and proved that we match our words with deeds… Today, the independent Azerbaijani State lives through the most glorious period of its history because Azerbaijan has never been this strong in its whole history. Today, then, we have got the political power, the economic prowess, the unity of the nation and the government, the military might and the positive role that we play in the region.’

Continuing, Madame Chair said that the whole world not excluding Azerbaijan had lived the year 2020 fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, our country was able to solve that difficult situation with the relatively small harm done to it. A large-scale social package was put together for the people hit by the coronavirus infection and especially for those either employed informally or jobless. The local businesses were granted a number of tax benefits.

The 11 per cent growth in the non-oil industrial sector even in such a hard year was only possible thanks to the well thought-out measures that the State had adopted.

Besides, not only was the State able to preserve its foreign-currency reserves but it also found a way to increase them in spite of the war and the counter-coronavirus action claiming considerable financial injections and the stern quarantine regulations and low crude oil prices notwithstanding. The launch of the South Gas Corridor, a project materialised thanks to the initiative and endeavours of our country, came as one of the biggest achievements of last year.

Quoting the well-respected President Aliyev, Chair Gafarova said, ‘The Azerbaijani gas has reached the European space already and for the first time in history, too.’

As for the other and recent tidings of joy, the State Oil Fund of the Azerbaijan Republic has risen to the fifth position for transparency and accountability in the 2019 table of 64 sovereign funds that the US-based Peterson Institute of International Economics made public last month.

Remarkably, the leading international organisations and the reputed rating agencies alike give high evaluations of the reforms under way in Azerbaijan, thanks to which our country has high ratings in the Doing Business papers of the World Bank invariably. Right now, for instance, Azerbaijan is the 28^th amongst the 190 countries covered in it. At the same time, Azerbaijan is listed as one of the 10 most reformatory states of the world.

The Cabinet of Ministers submitting its annual accounts to the Milli Majlis provides for stronger Parliament-Government bonds. Besides, this process ensures the MPs are engaged in objective study and solution of the social and economic growth issues, in the opinion of Mrs Gafarova.

Last year, the Government heeded the suggestions made when the Cabinet’s annual account had been discussed at the Milli Majlis. Copious information about the action taken in line with those suggestions was made available eventually.

As for the present annual report, it is for the first time that it contains the proposals of the sixth-convocation Parliament’s members about overhauling and building social and infrastructure facilities as well as about improving the quality of the services.

Completing her speech, Chair Gafarova said she was certain that the discussions due today would be fruitful.

Prime Minister Ali Asadov remarked as he was tabling the 2020 performance report by the Cabinet of Ministers that last year had been marked by such a wonderful milestone in our brilliant statehood history as the de-occupation of our lands and the restoration of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity under the esteemed President and Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev. The economic and military potential accumulated with Ilham Aliyev’s control over long years was converted to the unblemished victory of our Army, PM Asadov emphasised.

The past year is also remembered by a string of key economic, political and social events including the election of the sixth-convocation multi-party Milli Majlis in a democratic environment. The working relations between the Government and the Parliament were intensified further while the Cabinet of Ministers was taking into account all the queries and suggestions that the MPs were making in 2020. The TAP, the last segment of the South Gas Corridor, was launched at the tail end of 2020; consequently, Azerbaijan began to pump its natural gas to Europe for the first time ever.

Azerbaijan occupies the 28^th position in the 2020 Doing Business by the World Bank. What’s more, our country made progress across several positions in the Davos materials of the World Economic Forum as well, PM Asadov added before sharing the news of the achievements made by the State Oil Fund.

Purposeful steps were taken throughout last year to counter the pandemic and its adverse consequences; all the national resources and capabilities converged on that struggle. Efforts were taken to avoid any shortage of face masks and medications and to build modular-type hospitals. Azerbaijan became the first South Caucasian country to start the vaccination, besides.

The national action to maintain employment and social well-being encompassed 4,800,000 people; 600,000 people including those who had lost their jobs during the pandemic were given the one-off welfare benefits equalling AZN 190, that is, the effective living wage. Azerbaijan’s Gross Domestic Product declined by 4.3 per cent while the industrial outputs dropped by 5 per cent last year in comparison with 2019. The four banks that had become insolvent had their licences revoked. The pensions were raised and the scope of the targeted social aid was made broader. President Ilham Aliyev signed a number of decrees intended to strengthen the social protection of the shahid families, those handicapped in action and their families. The YASAT Foundation was established with the same purpose in mind.

The richest lands of Garabagh had been exploited by the enemy mercilessly for close to thirty years; still, all those villages and towns will be restored and the process has actually set in, according to Mr Asadov. AZN 2.2 bn has been released from the State Budget for restoration of the liberated lands to begin with. Demining those provinces is the most essential part of the restoration process, speaking of which, the reorganisation of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) will be central to setting new quality standards in this work.

Completing his presentation, PM Ali Asadov congratulated the gathering on Novruz, the ancient feast of our nation, and on the advent of the Year’s Last Tuesday.

Then, Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee for Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Tahir Mirkishili stated his view of the last-year report by the Cabinet of Ministers. The economic growth forecasts made for 2020 originally had been high and the figures for the first quarter of the year confirmed their closeness to reality; however, the COVID-19 pandemic raging the world over including in Azerbaijan made sure that public health became the prime target of the national efforts as decreed by the Head of the State Ilham Aliyev from the start of the second quarter of the year onwards.

The activities conducted under the immediate control of Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva curtailed the pandemic’s spread considerably and not only minimised the losses but also reduced the anticipated economic damage, Mr Mirkishili went on.

The scale and gravity of the economic crisis were added to by the sharp decline of world oil prices last year. The crisis was bearish on commodity prices in the energy sector where they fell by 18.3% but bullish on the non-energy sector prices with the consequent rise by 16.1%. World food and oil prices went 6.5% up and slid by 33% respectively last year.

Consequently, Azerbaijan spent the year fighting on three fronts at the one and the same time: against the pandemic, against the global crisis and against Armenia the Aggressor. Sufficient resources were mobilised to hold off at all the three cordons.

The prompt allocation of State Budget funds required for the urgent arrangements curbing the coronavirus pandemic ensured an adequate financial basis; that was not slow in yielding fruit. It is commendable and gratifying that the strategic projects, the social and institutional reforms, army-building and enhancement of the national military potential were all kept on track for all the problems posed by the pandemic.

Unincorporated business enterprisers were given financial support, hired workforce salaries were underpinned and enterprises engaged in the industries hit hard by the pandemic enjoyed the benefits of 75% of their revenues, all within the frameworks of the anti-pandemic economic package. Those and many other benefits and allowances bore well on the economic environment.

We think, Mr Mirkishili said, that the policy of preserving the financial stability that covered banks, non-bank credit institutions, market and money markets as well as the insurance system proved successful during 2020.

The efforts made the national economy yet more transparent whilst also bolstering the mutual trust between economic operators and state authorities, according to the parliamentary committee chairman whose overview was followed by the high praise of the Cabinet’s annual report coming from the other Milli Majlis committee chairmen Sadig Gurbanov, Tahir Rzayev and Ahliman Amiraslanov. First Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis Ali Huseynli, Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis Fazayil Ibrahimli and the MPs Sevinj Fataliyeva, Ilham Mammadov, Azay Guliyev and Vahid Ahmadov shared their views of the document as well.

The deliberations were resumed after the break.

The next speakers were the MPs Shahin Ismayilov, Mazahir Efendiyev, Rashad Mahmudov, Fazil Mustafa, Fazayil Agamali, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, Kamal Jafarov, Ganira Pashayeva, Azer Badamov, Elnur Allahverdiyev, Nigyar Arpadarai, Eldaniz Salimov, Tahir Karimli, Musa Gasimli, Razi Nurullayev, Ali Masimli, Sadagat Valiyeva, Aghil Mammadov, Soltan Mammadov, Malahat Ibrahimghizi, Isa Habibbayli, Rufat Aliyev and Hijran Huseynova. They all voiced their opinions about the electors’ issues, the arrangements needed for the Great Return to the liberated lands, the anti-pandemic action and the future agenda as a whole. Everybody taking the floor lauded the annual report of the Cabinet of Ministers.

PM Ali Asadov commented on the matters raised by the MPs. Then, the 2020 report of the Cabinet of Ministers was put on vote and taken note of.

Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova told the House then that the second item on the agenda was a draft resolution on appointing Deputy Chairman and auditors of the Chamber of Accounts of the Azerbaijan Republic.

Such appointments follow appropriate designations by the Milli Majlis in line with Part IV of Article 44 of the Internal Charter of the Milli Majlis and Article 11.3 of the Law on the Chamber of Accounts.

Madame Chair designated Nasir Sadigov as the candidate Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts and Javid Bayramov, Hilal Huseynov and Vafa Mutallimova as the candidate auditors of the Chamber. The candidatures had been considered and endorsed at the preceding meeting of the parliamentary Committee for Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising, Mrs Gafarova noted before expressing a confidence that the nominees would succeed in discharging their respective office duties.

The relevant draft resolution was put on vote and approved subsequently.

With the sitting drawing to a close, Mrs Gafarova congratulated the gathering on the approaching Novruz Holiday, which he described as one of friendship, union, pureness and renovation, an embodiment of the spiritual pillars of the nation tested and tried by the many past centuries. Madame Chair suggested congratulatory letters should be written to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva. Her idea was met with applause.

With that, the plenary sitting of the Milli Majlis came to an end.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis