Baku: Azerbaijan's primary income balance deficit has decreased by nearly 16% in the first half of this year. The oil and gas sector recorded a deficit of $1.4 billion, while the non-oil and gas sector achieved a surplus of $0.5 billion. As a result, the overall deficit in the primary income balance decreased by 15.8% to $0.9 billion.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the total turnover of receipts and payments on primary income amounted to $4.7 billion. Out of this, 59.7%, or $2.8 billion, were payments made from Azerbaijan to non-residents. The major part of these payments included the repatriation of income attributed to foreign investors, which totaled $2 billion. This amount included $1.8 billion repatriated by international oil and gas consortia, primarily in the form of crude oil and natural gas. Additionally, interest payments to non-residents on securities portfolios amounted to $114.9 million, interest paid for the use of foreign loans was $242.8 million, and other payments stood at $467.8 million.

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan highlighted that a significant portion of other payments, amounting to $306.6 million, entered the country's economy through reinvestment. This reinvestment involved the reinvestment in the country of interest income earned in Azerbaijan and was recorded under the foreign direct investment item.