Azerbaijan's external state debt decreases by $685.8 million

As of January 1, 2022, Azerbaijan's external state debt amounted to $8,135,700,000 (AZN13,830,700,000), or 14.9% of GDP in 2021.

Report informs referring to the Finance Ministry. These are obligations formed within the framework of loan agreements signed by Azerbaijan with various international financial and credit organizations and foreign banks.

Taking into account the funds attracted last year and the main debt obligations fulfilled, the external state debt decreased by $685,800 in absolute terms compared to the beginning of 2021, and its share in GDP decreased by 5.8 percentage points.

"According to the results of last year, the country's direct external state debt amounted to $7,393,400,000, or 13.5% of GDP, and conditional obligations under state guarantees for external borrowings attracted by state-owned enterprises – $742,300, or 1.4% of GDP ", the message says.

External state debt consists of loans raised by international financial institutions for infrastructure projects and financing programs, as well as government securities placed on international financial markets and other external financial obligations of the state, including government guarantees provided in connection with external borrowing by government institutions.

As of January 1, 2022, the country's domestic state debt amounted to AZN3,068,400,000, or 3.3% of GDP, including the country's direct domestic state debt of AZN2,507,100,000, or 2.7% of GDP, as well as contingent liabilities on domestic loans attracted under state guarantees - AZN561,300,000 manats, or 0.6% of GDP.

Compared to the beginning of last year, domestic state debt in absolute terms increased by AZN1,126,100,000 and its share in GDP - by 0.6 percentage points. This growth is due to the gradual replacement of external borrowings with domestic ones and the implementation of consistent measures to support the development of the local government securities market in accordance with the approved "Strategy for managing public debt in Azerbaijan for the medium and long term".