Azerbaijan Finance Minister Samir Sharifov announced priorities for the country's economic model during an address Sunday to participants in the "Rethinking Growth Potential and Growth Models" workshop in Baku.

Sharifov was in Baku for the 48th meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Governors.

"The growth of the country's economy will be based on the diversification ... and the reduction of dependence on oil and gas sector," Sharifov said. "This does not mean that we will close all oil and gas projects. We will continue the development of this sector and develop the important projects in this field."

The aim for the economic plan is to diversify the national economy by strengthening non-oil sectors and to strengthen the social sector.

ADB recently announced that it would be investing approximately $120 million into small and medium-size businesses alongside individual entrepreneurial support. According to an earlier report, this sector employs approximately 42 percent of workers in Azerbaijan.