The government predicts economic growth this year of 3.2 percent.

Baku is spending millions of dollars on infrastructure projects in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions liberated during the war.

In April alone the economy expanded by a record 44.8 percent, compared with a 16.6 percent contraction a year ago, the National Statistics office said.

The move comes as Minsk faces further isolation by the European Union after the incident involving a routine flyover of its airspace.