MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said the former Soviet Union republic's gross domestic product will grow by more than 9.0 percent in 2009, down from around 11 percent in 2008, due to diversifying into areas like agriculture and telecommunications.
But the growth rate is lower than a forecast for a 10-12 percent increase made by a deputy economic development minister earlier this month.
'The economy grew by more than 9 percent in 2009, which is an excellent figure taking into account the financial crisis,' Aliyev told Russian TV channel Vesti on Saturday.
'Industrial production also grew by around 9 percent, inflation was less than 2 percent. I think it's all because we managed to diversify the economy and conduct very serious economic reforms in a very short period of time,' he added.
The country's economic mainstay is mainly oil and gas.
He also said the country was aiming to launch its first-ever satellite in about two-year time to give a boost to the telecommunication industry.
In October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for Azerbaijan's economic growth to 7.5 percent from 2.5 percent previously due to higher oil prices.
The Azeri president also signalled he was willing to support the Nabucco gas pipeline to Europe, a rival project to the Moscow-sponsored South Stream link.
'If necessary... Naturally, we are interested in diversification of our gas supplies routes. That's because our supplies are limited by our region,' he replied when asked if Azerbaijan would like to support a project such as Nabucco.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Sue Thomas) Keywords: AZERBAIJAN/GDP (vladimir.soldatkin@reuters.com, +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: vladimir.soldatkin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
But the growth rate is lower than a forecast for a 10-12 percent increase made by a deputy economic development minister earlier this month.
'The economy grew by more than 9 percent in 2009, which is an excellent figure taking into account the financial crisis,' Aliyev told Russian TV channel Vesti on Saturday.
'Industrial production also grew by around 9 percent, inflation was less than 2 percent. I think it's all because we managed to diversify the economy and conduct very serious economic reforms in a very short period of time,' he added.
The country's economic mainstay is mainly oil and gas.
He also said the country was aiming to launch its first-ever satellite in about two-year time to give a boost to the telecommunication industry.
In October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for Azerbaijan's economic growth to 7.5 percent from 2.5 percent previously due to higher oil prices.
The Azeri president also signalled he was willing to support the Nabucco gas pipeline to Europe, a rival project to the Moscow-sponsored South Stream link.
'If necessary... Naturally, we are interested in diversification of our gas supplies routes. That's because our supplies are limited by our region,' he replied when asked if Azerbaijan would like to support a project such as Nabucco.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Sue Thomas) Keywords: AZERBAIJAN/GDP (vladimir.soldatkin@reuters.com, +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: vladimir.soldatkin.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.