Press Review December 22, 2017

Budgetary superiority of the regions of Azerbaijan, attitude to governance, and the threat of falling oil prices are the leading topics of today's press.

The Azerbaijan newspaper writes that Ilham Aliyev created a new model of development in the post-Soviet space, increasing the role of the country in the region, which is confirmed by the state budget for 2018.

The article reminds that in 2018 the expenses are planned at 21 billion 47 million manats, and the income should be AZN 20.127 billion. For comparison, the author cites the figures of the state budget of Georgia and other post-Soviet countries.

The website Azadliq.info published an article titled And Ilham Aliyev Was Once Called Reformer. The article deals with the so-called team of reformers from among graduates of European and American universities. However, such a command has not yet been created. Although there are many graduates of foreign universities with Western management skills, they are simply out of work.

Novoye Vremya writes about the unprofitability of the oil and gas sector at the current price of oil. According to the balance of payments for nine months, foreign exchange earnings amounted to 24.1 billion dollars. Of this amount, approximately USD 16.1 billion accounts for the share of the oil and gas sector. Experts believe that 40.5% of foreign exchange earnings were absorbed by the oil and gas sector. Therefore, it can be said that the oil sector absorbs no less than it earns.