Expert: Recession did not hit Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan much
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In March I attended the Astana Economic Forum. The agenda and the strategic speech of the President of Kazakhstan determined the high importance of the event. The Head of the State offered a deep analysis of the global economic situation and the problems caused by the crisis. He outlined the ways out of the crisis and gave specific recommendations.
As for the main topic - Nursultan Nazarbayev's initiative to create a single world currency, two Nobel laureates Robert Mandell and Edmund Phelps backed the idea. It was really interesting to attend such a historic event and listen to the global speech of Kazakhstan's political leader.
Creation of a single world currency is a long-term goal. According to Dr. Mandell, for the first time the idea to introduce the euro currency was suggested in 1965, and only 30 years later this idea was put into life. Only as long as there is political will and determination this process will take three months, three years or it can linger for three decades. However the goal is not forced introduction of the world currency, for there are some countries which approved these ideas, but some did not. Nowadays we need accurate calculations.
I have been to Kazakhstan and I can say that the crisis didn't affect your economy as much as the economies of the United States and Europe. Of course, the strongest blow fell on the banking sector. But due to efficient actions that followed the instruction of your President the banking sector survived. As for the decision on tenge devaluation, I can say that it was made in due time and well enough. And I believe that it will raise the Kazakh competitive ability to a new level.
It is to be noted that the crisis didn't affect much the Azerbaijani economy as well. It is a result of the conservative economic policy that had being held for few years. This is the very economic approach that characterizes our Government.
The Azerbaijani National Bank allocates USD 150 mln to the support of the Manat rate every month. We have analyzed this issue. The decision on the issue is that the devaluation isn't necessary yet. If the allocation to the support of the Manat rate affects the economy of the country, the devaluation will be imminent.
I would like to note that the non-oil and gas sector of Azerbaijan is successfully developed due to the measures taken by the Azerbaijani Government. Many factors, including different state programs play an important role in it.
The Azerbaijan investment climate is favorable, the information on our economy is accessible and familiar to the Kazakh businessmen. Many of them are positive about realization of their business projects in Baku. Today many Azerbaijan businessmen plan to work in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh businessmen should be more active in Azerbaijan as well. The interaction must be closer and there exist all opportunities for it.
