In 2003, the salary of the ambassadors, as I remember exactly, was $2,361. And now even the technical staff on our missions are paid more than that, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vilayat Guliyev, told Report.

He said that Azerbaijani embassies or representative offices operated in 26 countries and international organizations during his tenure as the minister of foreign affairs: “The geography of diplomatic missions mainly covered the CIS region, the countries of Western Europe, the Middle East, which are important for Azerbaijan, and the United States. Now, more than 80 embassies, representative offices, and consulates of Azerbaijan operate on five continents of the world, in addition to all important international organizations. Of course, the number of employees working in these missions has also increased 3–4 times compared to the early 2000s.”

The diplomat emphasized that the staff unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also increased, and its material and technical capabilities have increased manifold: “Most of our embassies have been provided with modern office buildings. All this places important and serious tasks before our diplomats. The work and labor of those whose work is most highly valued should also correspond to it.”