By Trend

Azerbaijan's economy faced two severe shocks in 2020, which were triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and a sharp drop in prices for oil and petroleum products, Azerbaijani Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov said, Trend reports.

Sharifov made the remark at a meeting of Azerbaijan’s Parliament on May 27 during the discussions on the bill ‘On the execution of the state budget of Azerbaijan for 2020’.

According to the minister, these events had a negative impact on the economy of Azerbaijan, affecting the decline in GDP.

The minister added that last year was a difficult one for all countries of the world.

"Azerbaijan responded flexibly to new challenges, on behalf of President Ilham Aliyev, to prevent the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, appropriate programs were immediately developed and their implementation began," Sharifov said.

“Thanks to the measures taken, all social obligations were timely fulfilled, and the impact of the consequences of the pandemic on the economy of Azerbaijan was minimized,” the minister added.