Baku, Azerbaijan, March 7
By Ilkin Shafiyev – Trend:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects completion of most of the measures under the Improving Governance and Public Sector Efficiency Program, implemented in Azerbaijan, by the end of 2018, Head of the ADB Azerbaijan Office Nariman Mannapbekov said in an interview with Trend and Azernews.
The ADB’s Board of Directors approved the Improving Governance and Public Sector Efficiency Program in December 2017. This flagship program supports a wide range of policy reforms in areas such as public expenditure, state-owned enterprises, and the financial sector. ADB provided a loan of $250 million to Azerbaijan to realize the program.
"ADB is encouraged by the strong commitment of the Ministry of Finance and other government agencies to move forward with the policy reforms to make the public sector more efficient and productive. An international consulting company provides daily support to the Government in the preparation and implementation of the agreed policy reform measures. We expect that the majority, if not all, of these measures can be completed by the end of 2018," he said.
ADB was founded in 1966 and 67 states are its members. The bank’s headquarters is located in Manila, Philippines.
Azerbaijan became an ADB member in 1999. The country's share in the bank's capital is 0.5 percent.
Since 2003, the ADB has approved the allocation of loans worth $4.33 billion to Azerbaijan for the implementation of 31 projects in the public and private sectors. ADB has also implemented 45 technical assistance projects totaling $27.8 million in the country.
