Tahir Budagov: The “Extractive Industries Transparency” Portal is another example of work done to increase the potential of statistics.
“Being a leading country in the implementation of this Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Azerbaijan has always supported international efforts on transparency and accountability in the extractive industry. Our country promoted transparency in the extractive industry at the highest level by joining the “Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative” in 2003, and for the first time in the world published the report on the transparency initiative in 2005. President Ilham Aliyev has always attached particular importance to the issues of transparency in the extractive industries, in this regard, relevant decrees and orders were signed”. This was announced by the Chairman of the State Statistical Committee, Tahir Budagov, at a presentation devoted to the “Extractive Industries Transparency” Portal.
Tahir Budagov reported that the head of state created the Extractive Industries Transparency Commission, composed of high-level officials, by signing a decree on "Further measures to improve transparency and accountability in the extractive industry" on April 5, 2017. During its activity, the commission, which was also attended by a representative of the State Statistical Committee, in order to ensure transparency in the extractive industry, carried out the necessary activities and informed people about it by publishing regular reports.
The Chairman of the Committee noted that by the presidential decree "on additional measures to introduce transparency of reporting in the extractive industry" on July 28, 2020, the State Statistical Committee was entrusted with keeping records of transparency in the extractive industry, and in this regard, coordinate public bodies, and based on the collected reports, inform the public.
According to him, over the past period, the State Statistical Committee has held several events in order to ensure the collection of reports on transparency in the extractive industry and to inform the public: “As a result of the work done, the Portal "Transparency of the Extractive Industry" presented today was created. I believe that this portal is another example of the work done in the field of increasing the capacity of statistics. The portal presented today is coordinated with other information resources of the State Statistical Committee and I believe that the portal will create a favorable environment for providing statistical information to the public as well as government agencies, the private sector, scientific and educational institutions, civil society institutions, the media, regional and international organizations. The portal will also play a crucial role in the effective management of the extractive industries, in the creation of sustainable and long-term transparency mechanisms, and in ensuring high reporting standards.
