Minister: Azerbaijan to spend 80% of its 2024 consolidated budget on sustainable development goals

Azerbaijani Minister of Economy, Deputy Chairman of the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development Mikayil Jabbarov has said that the country will spend 80 per cent of its consolidated budget for 2024 on sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Jabbarov made the remarks while addressing the 2nd Baku Forum on Sustainable Development, APA reports.

He noted that to achieve the SDG goals, 350,000 new jobs were created in the non-oil and gas sector: “This is an average of 70,000 jobs per year. The next goal we have is to focus not only on the number of jobs, but also on developing industries that improve the quality of them.”

He added that Azerbaijan will submit a new report on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the UN in November next year.

“We attach great importance to the SDGs,” the minister noted.

In the same vein, addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Ahmedov said that Azerbaijan considers the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) project a priority.

“In the next 7 years, serious work must be done in the area of SDGs. Countries and states must make more efforts until 2030 for the successful implementation of this global project,” Ahmedov said.

According to him, today most people in the world are victims of wars and mines laid in territories after wars.

“More than 3,000 people were killed as a result of mine explosions in Azerbaijan. The mine problem remains a pressing problem not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the world. Azerbaijan is one of the most suffering countries in the world. I am confident that today’s forum will make an important contribution to the development of an SDG strategy aimed at creating a mine-free society and world,” he added.