Baku: Chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship, Azer Amiraslanov, clarified why the economic growth rate is low, APA reports. During the discussion of the draft law ‘On the State Budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2026,’ at the plenary session of the Milli Majlis, held today Azer Amiraslanov said that the decline in the share of the oil sector in the economy, and against this background, economic growth amounting to 1.3 percent in the first 10 months of the current year, the expectation of 3 percent growth by the end of the year, and the projection of 2.9 percent for next year – is neither stagnation nor any kind of economic pathology, as some present it.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship, noted that the projected economic growth for 2026 – which is almost at the same level as the expected global growth rate – reflects the changes in the structure of industry, specifically the decline in oil production. Amiraslanov stated that the decrease in production can slow the growth rate of the non-oil sector due to structural transformation. He questioned when the renewal in the structure of the economy and industry, and the decline in oil production stemming from geological and technological characteristics, began to be viewed as economic recession or stagnation.

Amiraslanov reminded that Azerbaijan’s oil production dynamics were determined long ago based on long-term geological and technical forecasts within the framework of the ‘Contract of the Century.’ He noted that oil production rose from 9 million tons in 1995 to 51 million tons in 2010. However, since 2011, production has gradually decreased, dropping to 34 million tons in 2020 and to 23 million tons in the first 10 months of 2025. This trend in oil production has been considered in Azerbaijan’s economic strategy, particularly in budget planning and in the model of managing oil revenues.