Baku: Financing for further strengthening defense capabilities and national security has been identified as one of the main priorities of the 2026 state budget, said Minister of Finance of Azerbaijan, Sahil Babayev, during the plenary session of the Milli Majlis while discussing the draft law ‘On the State Budget for 2026,’ APA reports.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the minister noted that next year, 21% of state budget expenditures, amounting to 8.7 billion manats, will be allocated for defense and national security purposes. This amount represents an increase of 319 million manats compared to the current year. For 2026, state budget revenues are forecast to be 38.6 billion manats, with expenditures at 41.7 billion manats, resulting in a budget deficit of 3.1 billion manats. State budget expenditures are set at 31.1% of GDP, revenues at 28.8%, and the deficit at 2.3%.