Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The World Bank has applied the successful experience of Azerbaijan in an agricultural investment project in other countries, the Country Manager for the WB Azerbaijan Office Naveed Naqvi said in an interview with Trend.
Naqvi noted that in particular the experience of introduction of GIS maps within the project has been used subsequently in the countries of Africa, Latin America and South Asia.
The second phase of the Azerbaijan Rural Investment Project (AzRIP) has been implemented in Azerbaijan since 2012. Its value is $53.6 million; another $50 million was allocated in 2014 as additional funding.
Naqvi noted that the project should be completed in the near future. One of the main directions of the project has been the mobilization of communities in the form of community organizations. A total of 2,000 such organizations have been established.
He said last year, WB created a GIS map, which displays all sub-projects within AzRIP. Communities independently chose the sub-projects they needed, then the projects were funded by WB. Among the implemented sub-projects, there are the improvement of road infrastructure, the refurbishment of schools and medical institutions, Naqvi said.
Speaking in general about the support for development of regions of Azerbaijan, Naqvi also mentioned the Agricultural Competitiveness Improvement Project and the IDP Living Standards and Livelihoods Project.
Within these projects, grants and loans were allocated to entrepreneurs and others so that they could start their own businesses, he said, adding that the mentioned projects' impact has been huge, especially in rural areas.
"People felt the difference," Naqvi added.
Azerbaijan joined the WB Group in 1992. During the years of cooperation, the bank has implemented in Azerbaijan the projects worth more than $3 billion.
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