Milli Majlis committees held a joint online meeting on 23 December to discuss the first reading of the 2021 State Budget of the Azerbaijan Republic Bill and the other Bills included in the Budgetary Package.

The participating committees were those of labour and social policy, of science and education, of culture and health care, of family, women’s and children’s affairs, for public associations and religions entities, and for youth affairs and sports.

Government officials and representatives of the Chamber of Accounts joined the meeting as well.

At the outset, Chairman of the Labour and Social Policy Committee Musa Guliyev let it be known that five of the eight Bills on the agenda were parts of the Budgetary Package.

Presenting the 2021 State Budget of the Azerbaijan Republic Bill, Chairman of the Committee of Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising Tahir Mirkishili said that the document had been discussed meticulously at a meeting of his committee broadcast to all the MPs – for the first time in the history of the Azerbaijani parliament – as instructed by the Chair of the Milli Majlis.

The Budgetary Package and the opinion statement by the Chamber of Accounts were being put before the MPs in accordance with the relevant laws; that the opinion statement had been composed in such a short while was praiseworthy, Mr Mirkishili remarked.

The 2021 Budget is going to be the largest annual budget of Azerbaijan in manat terms. It reflects the transformation of the victory gained in Garabagh to an economic value. It is planned to have a 3.4% economic growth next year despite all the difficulties that the pandemic is posing around the world as well as to the national economy of Azerbaijan, Mr Mirkishili said.

Briefing the MPs on the 2021 State Unemployment Insurance Fund Budget Bill, he told them that the Fund’s budget would equal AZN 157,769,146.

Six items on the agenda of the online meeting were put forth by Chairman of the Labour and Social Policy Committee Musa Guliyev who told the assembled that the victory in the 44-day war had had a substantial bearing on the concretisation of the budgetary parameters. Apart from restoring the de-occupied territories, addressing the social problems of the shahid families and the gazies is now in the focus, too. As ever they do, the new Budget, too, gives advantage to the social area.

It follows from the 2021 State Social Protection Fund Budget Bill’s first reading that the SSPF’s revenues and expenditures are forecast to reach AZN 5,146,030,160 next year with a rise by AZN 161 mn or 7.5% from the SSPF annual budget this year. The compulsory state social insurance fees should add up to 68.4% of the aggregate revenues of the SSPF, according to Mr Guliyev.

The MPs were told that the living wage would be set at AZN 196 – AZN 207 for employable population, AZN 162 for pensioners and AZN 175 for children. The limit need tested is to be set at AZN 170 next year for the purposes of the assignment of the targeted social aid.

As regards the first readings of the draft amendments to the laws ‘On Social Insurance’, ‘On Retirement Pensions’ and ‘On Social Benefits’ that the committee had discussed, they, too, would serve the cause of improving the welfare system of the country further.

Speaking to comment on the Budget Package, Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov began with thanking Chair of the Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova for having arranged the deliberations upon the 2021 State Budget in such a format. Then, Minister Sharifov said that the next-year State Budget was being put together in a period very remarkable for our country, that is, one in which the triumphant Azerbaijani Army led by Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev had put an end to the military-political aggression of Armenia and in which our compatriots would go back to their homes soon. Next year, it is planned to allocate AZN 2.2 billion towards the costs of restoring and rebuilding the de-occupied region of the country, the minister added.

The 2021 State Budget revenues and expenditures are set at AZN 25 bn 427 mn and AZN 28 bn 543 mn respectively.

Mr Sharifov informed the MPs of the particulars of the next-year allocations from the State Budget for social protection and welfare, sciences and education, health care and culture, physical education and youth policy, and for activities in other areas.

After that, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev advised the MPs in detail of the funds to be allocated for labour and social protection as well as towards the costs of the work planned to be done in both fields in his charge. According to Mr Babayev, the Government’s principal line had been for improving the public welfare, ensuring employment and fulfilling all the social programmes in the plan this year despite all the hardships that had to be coped with. The minister mentioned the 2021 budget of the SSPF exceeding that of the current year by AZN 361 mn or 8%. Besides, he said, several budget indications would ensure the growth of the private sector allowing the latter to secure a more active role in the economy of the country. Concerning the application of the tax benefits and raising the minimum wage from AZN 130 to AZN 250, Minister Babayev highlighted the strong legalisation carried into life in the private sector through the efforts of a number of relevant ministries and departments. As a result, the collected revenues are injected into the target areas.

Mr Babayev told the MPs of the workings of the Prompt and Steady Social Welfare Agency (the ‘DOST’), of the steps taken to maintain social assistance facilities, of the care taken of the shahid families and the gazies, of the record number of households covered by the self-employment programmes and of the other endeavours of his Ministry. One of the main goals of the Ministry is to make a contribution to the social and economic development of the liberated territories; in 2021, the focus will once again be on those territories as well as on giving our citizens the opportunity to find themselves proper employment.

Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and Chairman of the parliamentary Youth Affairs and Sports Committee Adil Aliyev, Deputy Chair of the Milli Majlis and Chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Public Associations and Religious Entities Fazayil Ibrahimli, Chairman of the parliamentary Health Care Committee Ahliman Amiraslanov, Chair of the parliamentary Committee for Family, Women’s and Children’s Affairs Hijran Huseynova, Chair of the parliamentary Culture Committee Ganira Pashayeva, Deputy Chairman of the Health Committee Rashad Mahmudov and MP Arzu Naghiyev spoke during the deliberations. They all said they were proud of being the delegates of the people taking part in the discussion of the State Budget.

The speakers praised highly the professionalism with which the Budget had been drafted as well as its social orientation and the special attention paid to the issue of restoring that part of our country which had been freed under the guidance of the Commander-in-Chief and thanks to the valour of our shahids and gazies.

Then, the ministers Samir Sharifov and Sahil Babayev commented on the points raised by the MPs.

Following the deliberations upon the Bills in the 2021 Budgetary Package at the joint meeting of the seven parliamentary committees, the MPs recommended unanimously that all those documents should be tabled for the first reading at a plenary sitting of the Milli Majlis.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis