On July 15, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, a meeting dedicated to the results of the half-year of this year was held.

President Ilham Aliyev admitted that Azerbaijan’s foreign policy doctrine proved to be more balanced and successful than domestic policy. “Of course, these international relations, the policy pursued by us in the region and in the world as a whole, allow us to solve domestic problems with great success, because in order to properly pursue domestic policy, any country needs a positive international background – first of all, in the neighborhood, and on the other hand – in the world,” Aliyev said at a meeting following the results of the first half of the year on July 15.

Aliyev noted that a balance has been established with all external centers of power. The multi-vector nature of his policy includes the Non-Aligned Movement, the Union of Turkic States, the EU, bilateral policy with neighboring states, positive relations with the United States are highlighted separately.

Such an international positive gave additional confidence to the president in promoting a policy to consolidate the results of the 44-day war, the main meaning of which is the complete restoration of the country’s territorial integrity and the establishment of long-term peace with Armenia. Accusing Armenia of delaying the process of concluding a comprehensive peace and unblocking transport arteries, Aliyev once again disagreed with Yerevan’s policy of reanimating the OSCE Minsk Group. According to his logic, which isfounded, the status of the Armenian-populated territory of Karabakh cannot be the subject of international discussion, since the issue has returned to the phase of internal discourse between the government and the Armenian community.

The meeting attended by the vice president, the prime minister, the ministers of economy and social protection, the head of the administration and assistants to the head of state, regarding domestic policy,expressed concern primarily about the state of the country’s food security.

Over the past 20 years, two state food security programs have been adopted – in 2001 and 2019. In June of this year, the law on food security was approved. However, the tasks of fully providing the population with domestic products have not been resolved. Statistics show a steady increase in the country’s external food dependence.

This is evidenced by the double-digit inflation announced at the meetingon the results of the six months – 12.9%, including a 19% increase in the food price index. Inflation badly affects the growth of wages and pensions, especially at the bottom of the scale of these two indicators.

The Minister of Economy noted the high growth rate of the economy (6.2%), while the Minister of Labor and Social Protection spoke about the growth of social welfare, when the minimum wage and pension were increased to 300 ($176) and 240 manats ($141), respectively. These figures are capable of reflecting the real state of domestic policy, which is less successful than foreign policy nirvana.

Source: Turan News Agency