BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 20. The peace framework agreement between Armenia (BB-/Stable) and Azerbaijan (BBB-/Stable) is a positive step toward a comprehensive deal and reduces the risk of renewed hostilities, Fitch Ratings said in its latest outlook, Trend reports.
“Achieving a peace agreement is unlikely to immediately affect either country’s ratings, but could support positive medium-term credit trends, notably via expanded trade that may boost growth, although this is difficult to quantify,” the agency said.
Fitch confirmed its previous outlook that a return to military conflict between the two countries is unlikely.
“Tangible benefits to economic growth, government revenues and trade will take a few years at least to materialize,” the forecast added.
For Azerbaijan, as Fitch noted, reduced tensions with Armenia could foster greater focus on domestic reforms, such as economic diversification and strengthening governance.
On August 8, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the United States Donald Trump, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint declaration on the meeting between the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia in Washington.
Besides, as part of the meeting between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of the US Donald Trump, and Prime Nikol Pashinyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan initialled the draft “Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Inter-State Relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia” and signed a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia to the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (on the closure of the OSCE Minsk Process, the personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on the conflict discussed by the Minsk Conference, and the High-Level Planning Group).