Azerbaijan intends to export hazelnuts to new markets
Azerbaijan intends to supply hazelnuts to the markets of Africa and Arab countries in 2018, Ismayil Orujov, chairman of Azerbaijan's Association of Hazelnut Producers and Exporters, told Trend.
In total, Azerbaijan intends to export hazelnuts to 30 countries in 2018, which is much more than the figures in the previous years.
Hazelnuts were supplied from Azerbaijan to 25 countries in 2016 and to 27 countries in 2017.
"We exported over 8,000 tons of hazelnut in January-November 2017," Orujov said. "Most of Azerbaijan's hazelnuts are exported to Italy, Russia and Germany."
He added that several hazelnut producing and processing enterprises are being built in the country's Khachmaz and Zagatala districts to expand the export of hazelnuts. The enterprises must be constructed by the end of 2018.
To date, the biggest hazelnut producer in the world is Turkey with a 75 percent share in the global market. Azerbaijan's share in the global hazelnut market is 4 percent. However, according to the foreign media, the country has a great potential for further growth in this field.
Domestic production ensures 60% of honey demand in Azerbaijan
Some 3,000 tons of honey were produced in Azerbaijan in 2017, Badraddin Hasratov, chairman of the Beekeepers Association, told Trend.
He added that last year, 5,000 tons of honey were consumed in Azerbaijan.
"This means that presently, domestic production ensures 60 percent of the demand for honey in Azerbaijan," Hasratov said. "We buy the remaining volume of honey from abroad."
He noted that there are 300,000 bee families in the country. He added that in 2017, the number of bee families in Azerbaijan increased by 50,000, compared to the end of 2016.
"We had 250,000 bee families as of early 2017," he noted. "After wintering we lost about 80,000 bee families, however, during last year, we were able not only to compensate for the losses, but also to increase the population of bees. Considering Azerbaijan's potential, we hope to bring the number of bee families to 700,000. This will allow us to completely eliminate dependence on honey imports, as well as expand honey exports."
Earlier, Hasratov said that 2,300 tons of honey were produced in Azerbaijan in 2016. For the last year, honey production in the country grew 30 percent.
Interactive map of Baku metro to be available for Android users
An interactive map of Baku metro will be available for Android users in the Baku Metro Map application, Shamkhal Bayramov, manager of the app development project, told Trend.
He said that the offline map of Baku metro is currently available in the Google Play.
"After an update, the application will have functions which make it possible to plan trips, calculate the time of a trip, choose the best route, etc.," Bayramov said.
In addition, work is also underway to improve the BakuBus application, he added. This is an online guide that allows tracking bus routes on the map of Baku in real time, he said.
"There are a number of analogues of this mobile application, but its main peculiarity is that it saves internet traffic," Bayramov said. "We plan to update the design of the application and add new features to it in the near future."
President Aliyev receives credentials of incoming ambassadors
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has received credentials of incoming ambassadors of a number of countries.
President Aliyev has received credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia Bold Ravda.
Ambassador Bold Ravda reviewed a guard of honor.
Bold Ravda presented his credentials to President Aliyev.
President Aliyev then spoke with the ambassador.
The president expressed his hope that the friendly Azerbaijan-Mongolia relations will continue successfully developing. He underlined Azerbaijan's keenness to cooperate with Mongolia in the areas of mutual interest, including in political, economic and cultural ones in the years ahead.
President Aliyev recalled his recent phone conversation with the Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga. The president noted that during the conversation they discussed the issues of mutual interest and expressed their regret over the absence of active contacts between the two countries at the level of heads of state and government so far.
President Aliyev noted the importance of establishing bilateral relations between different authorities of the two countries, including the parliaments, ministries, business groups, as well as in the political area, and hailed the good opportunities for expanding bilateral cooperation.
The ambassador thanked President Aliyev for the warm words, and extended Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga's greetings to President Aliyev. He noted that the Mongolian president also recalls his phone conversation with the Azerbaijani president.
Pointing at the unsatisfactory level of bilateral relations, the Mongolian ambassador said that he will spare no efforts to contribute to expanding the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
They also discussed the issues of cooperation in a number of fields, including in import and export, defense industry, investment, education, and agriculture.
President Aliyev thanked for President Battulga's greetings and asked the ambassador to extend his greetings to the Mongolian president.
President Aliyev has also accepted credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nigeria Hamzat Ibrahim.
Ambassador Hamzat Ibrahim reviewed a guard of honor.
Hamzat Ibrahim presented his credentials to President Aliyev.
President Aliyev then spoke with the ambassador.
Noting that Nigeria is a brotherly country for Azerbaijan, the president stressed the importance of the two countries' mutual support on the international level and within the UN and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Emphasizing the contribution of Azerbaijan to the cause of Islamic solidarity, President Aliyev said that a number of important events were held in the country in this regard.
The Azerbaijani president noted the significance of declaring 2017 as a Year of Islamic Solidarity in Azerbaijan and holding the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku.
Hailing the political ties between the two countries, the head of state also stressed the importance of increasing mutual trade, investment making, defining cooperation opportunities in business sphere, and underlined the necessity of reciprocal visits of the two countries' delegations at different levels.
Ambassador Hamzat Ibrahim extended greetings of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to President Aliyev. Saying that the two countries enjoy strong political relations, Hamzat Ibrahim noted that the economic cooperation does not conform to this level.
He said that during his meetings with Azerbaijani officials in Baku the ways of developing economic ties will be determined. Stressing that measures are being implemented to develop the non-oil sector in the two countries, the ambassador added that there are good opportunities for cooperation in tourism, education, trade and other fields.
They noted the significance of developing the bilateral cooperation in economic, investment making, trade, defense industry and other spheres, and stressed the appropriateness of establishing a joint intergovernmental commission for expanding the bilateral ties on this front.
President Aliyev thanked for the greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari and asked Hamzat Ibrahim to extend his greetings to the president of Nigeria.
President Aliyev has also accepted credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Equatorial Guinea José Esono Micha Akeng.
Ambassador José Esono Micha Akeng reviewed a guard of honor.
José Esono Micha Akeng presented his credentials to President Aliyev.
President Aliyev then spoke with the ambassador.
Emphasizing the importance of José Esono Micha Akeng's visit in terms of strengthening bilateral relations between Equatorial Guinea and Azerbaijan, the head of state said he hoped the ambassador's meetings with heads of relevant authorities in Baku will help define areas of cooperation between the two countries.
Pointing to the fact that both Equatorial Guinea and Azerbaijan are oil producing countries, the newly appointed ambassador underlined that he will spare no efforts to develop the bilateral cooperation.
They underlined the importance of restoring relations, which had previously existed between the two countries, and stressed the significance of developing cooperation in various fields, particularly in energy, education, investment, import and export, and others.
President Aliyev has also received credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bakir Sadovic.
Ambassador Bakir Sadovic reviewed a guard of honor.
Bakir Sadovic presented his credentials to President Aliyev.
President Aliyev then spoke with the ambassador.
They noted the importance of high-level meetings between the two countries, hailed a very good level of bilateral relations, and stressed the importance of strengthening the friendly ties even further.
The ambassador said Bosnia and Herzegovina highly appreciates Azerbaijan's investments in its agrarian industry and supporting social and humanitarian projects.
Azerbaijan’s beekeepers eye to create own credit union
Beekeepers in Azerbaijan intend to create their own credit union, Badraddin Hasratov, chairman of the Beekeepers Association told Trend.
"This issue was raised for the first time in a meeting of the Association's members with Agriculture Minister Heydar Asadov in September 2017," Hasratov said. "The minister agreed, and active work is being carried out to establish the union. There is a little delay in the document related issues, but I hope that in the near future the credit union will start its work, and beekeepers will be able to receive long-term loans at low interest rates."
"Initially, we planned to attract funding from the National Fund for Entrepreneurship Support (NFES), but at the meeting, Minister Asadov offered us to use the funds of the State Service for Management of Agricultural Projects and Credits under the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan," Hasratov noted. "I think that at the first stage we will attract the funds from the State Service, but we hope we will be able to attract funds from other financial organizations as well in the future."
There are 76 credit unions operating in Azerbaijan, according to the Financial Market Supervisory Authority.
Over 1.2 million e-health cards issued in Azerbaijan
The number of e-health cards issued to parents of newborns increased by 12.3 percent in Azerbaijan in 2017 compared to the figure in 2016, the Health Informatization Center of the Azerbaijani Health Ministry told Trend.
According to the Health Informatization Center, the number of e-health cards issued in 2017 increased by 135,488 and reached 1,234,465.
Moreover, since early 2018, the Center has issued 13,470 e-health cards to the patients with diabetes mellitus who receive free medicines. In total, 99,977 e-health cards were issued to the patients with diabetes mellitus.
E-health cards contain information about the identity of the card holder, medical and social insurance and other data. Information is included in a single database of medical institutions through a local network.
Single platform for managing medical institutions may appear in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani IT company Neuron Technologies introduced the CareNet hospital management system in the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC, Ismail Alakbarov, head of the IT company, told Trend.
The solution is used in the outpatient medical clinic of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC and provides for automation of reception and registration of patients.
The modules of the system make it possible to manage the treatment process in dentistry, pediatrics, ophthalmology, neuropathology, diagnostics, etc. The system also has a module for monitoring cash transactions, payments, personnel management, and so on.
"There are more than 400 ambulatory medical institutions operating throughout the country, and we would like to unite them in a cloud platform via a single information management system," Alakbarov said. "Presently, this is the subject of discussions with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Healthcare."
New online education platform being created in Azerbaijan
A new online education platform is being created in Azerbaijan, a source in the country's IT market told Trend.
The platform is being tested in six higher educational institutions of Azerbaijan.
The platform is being created within the Azerbaijan Educational Information System project, which was launched two years ago.
Presently, Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction, Baku Engineering University, Azerbaijan Technical University, Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, Azerbaijan University of Languages and Baku Slavic University are connected to the project.
Based on the cloud infrastructure, the education management platform makes it possible to automate activities of universities, keep records of attendance, create electronic journals and so on. Users can open their personal profiles, plan daily work, access electronic library, lesson schedule, internal social network, online payments and other resources.
Azerbaijan calls on Japan to invest in establishment of big enterprises
Japanese businessmen may take advantage of the favorable investment atmosphere created in Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee Aydin Aliyev said.
Aliyev made the remarks at a meeting with Japanese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Teruyuki Katori in Baku, the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee said.
Aliyev spoke about the business atmosphere created in the country, improvement of entrepreneurial activity, facilitation and acceleration of international trade.
"These reforms created opportunities for flexible and productive entrepreneurial activity," he said. "Japanese businessmen may invest in Azerbaijan, in particular, in the establishment of big enterprises."
Ambassador Katori stressed the high level of bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Japan in all spheres, including customs, and expressed readiness to work for further expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Japan for 11 months of 2017 amounted to $152.59 million, $148.9 million of which accounted for import of Japanese products, according to Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee.
Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan arrange postal money transfer service
The Azerbaijani and Kyrgyz postal operators have arranged a bilateral money transfer service via Secured Transfer of Electronic Financial Information System (STEFI), a source in the Azerbaijani postal communication market told Trend.
Earlier, money transfer service via this system was available in one direction from Azerbaijan to Kyrgyzstan due to technical problems.
The STEFI system was developed by the Postal Technology Center of the Universal Postal Union.
Presently, Azerbaijan's postal operator Azerpost LLC offers money transfer services via this system to Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Lithuania and Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijani Taxes Ministry dismisses over 60 employees
Sixty-four employees of the Azerbaijani Taxes Ministry have been dismissed from their positions, the ministry told Trend.
The ministry said the dismissed are to remain in the ministry until further notice. They are advisers to the minister, heads of structural units and other officials.
"Personnel and structural reforms began in the ministry with the aim of modernizing tax administration, forming a tax system that meets new challenges and introducing flexible administrative mechanisms," said the ministry.
Meanwhile, the purpose of reorganizing the ministry's structure is to improve the entrepreneurial and investment climate, eliminate artificial barriers to business, form a tax culture in society, and as part of partnership relations, to ensure the fulfillment of obligations by taxpayers.
Azerbaijani citizens can visit 63 countries without visas
Azerbaijan moved up by two positions and ranked 72nd as compared to the previous year's index.
The Henley Passport Index 2018, formerly known as the Visa Restrictions Index (renamed in 2018), has been published since 2006 by Henley & Partners in cooperation with the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The annual Henley Passport Index analyzes the visa rules of more than 200 countries and territories of the world and ranks them by the number of countries with visa-free entrance.
Azerbaijan shares 72nd position with Indonesia, the Philippines, Cuba and Cape Verde. The current year's index is the best result for Azerbaijan in recent years; citizens of the country could visit 62 countries without a visa in 2016 and 2017, and 58 countries - in 2015.
Azerbaijan ranked 74th in the Visa Restrictions Index in 2017.
Azerbaijan's neighboring countries - Russia ranked 48th, Turkey ranked 50th, Georgia ranked 53rd and Kazakhstan ranked 65th in the Henley Passport Index 2018.
Georgia significantly improved its position in the index thanks to the visa-free access to the Schengen area in 2017.
Over the past five years, Germany has kept its first place in the index. In 2018, citizens of the country can travel to 177 countries without a visa.
Singapore ranks second (176 countries) and eight countries - the UK, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Finland, France Sweden, Japan - ranked third. Citizens of these countries have an opportunity to visit 175 countries without a visa.
Afghanistan, citizens of which have a visa-free access to 24 countries, took the last position.
Austria ranks first among countries, which have programs for obtaining citizenship through investments. Austrian citizenship provides a visa-free access to 174 countries.
The volume of investments needed to obtain an Austrian passport is 8-10 million euros.
Malta and Cyprus, citizenship of which can be obtained for investments worth 1-2 million euros, offer a visa-free access to 169 and 159 countries respectively.
The Saint Kitts and Nevis passport is the most mobile passport among the Caribbean countries with investment programs, and offers a visa-free access to 139 countries.
Ilham Aliyev attends opening of RO-RO terminal at Port of Baku
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of the RO-RO terminal at the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Qaradag district.
Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev informed the head of state about the work done at the site.
President Aliyev opened the terminal.
President Ilham Aliyev: Work should be carried out to reduce foreign public debt
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said that work on reduction of the foreign public debt should be carried out in the coming years.
He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives.
"We should work to increase the revenues of the State Oil Fund. Overall, our currency reserves, the State Oil Fund's foreign exchange reserves are increasing year by year. This, of course, will allow us to allocate funds for important projects of the country and ensure economic stability. The amount and increase of the currency reserves give us economic independence and we are not dependent on any financial institution. We take loans. But, I should also note that we need to follow a more serious policy on loans," the President said.
The President noted that work on the reduction of the foreign public debt should be carried out in the years to come. "Today our foreign debt is at a reasonable level. However, I have set a task not to increase but reduce the foreign debt," President Aliyev said.
"Increasing currency reserves give us economic independence. As I have said, we ourselves issue credit and we are not dependent on foreign loans. Even at the very low price of oil, we did not allow any delay in financing the Southern Gas Corridor, which is of strategic importance to the country, and almost certainly this project is about to complete. Thus, the high level of foreign exchange reserves strengthens economic independence. This, in turn, strengthens our political independence," he said.
Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is one of those countries that pursue an independent policy.
"The number of such countries is not so many, especially this is not peculiar to countries with not so big population and territory. However, we are on the path of independence and our free and independent life is superior to us. That is why our economic potential is necessary not just for the solution of economic issues. Our economic potential increases our political power, strengthens our position in the region, and allows us to define and implement the long-term strategy of our country. Of course, our economic power has played a major role in financing the Southern Gas Corridor, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, North-South projects and other key projects. We have borrowed foreign loans for the implementation of major strategic projects. But if we had not had a very strong economic situation, we would not have been able to get these loans, and we well remember that there were not many willing to lend us loans when we had not money. As we have grown up economically, the resources of the Oil Fund have started to grow, then the number of those desiring to lend us increased, and we are already making the choice."
In short, the level of our external debt should decline. This year's budget provides for repaying foreign debt. The main task is not to borrow foreign loans to the less important projects. We only need to borrow foreign loans for technologically important projects. Otherwise, it is not right to get a loan from abroad for the construction of a building or any other project that we can do using own capacities," President Aliyev said.
President Ilham Aliyev: Number of IDPs provided with new housing will double in Azerbaijan
The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) provided with new housing will almost be doubled in Azerbaijan in 2018, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev said.
He made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of socioeconomic development of the country in 2017 and future objectives.
The head of state noted that new townships, settlements for internally displaced persons will be built this year.
"If in 2017 we moved 12,000 people into new apartments, houses, then this year at least 20,000 IDPs should move to new apartments, houses. This indicator can be more," President Ilham Aliyev said.
Azerbaijan eyes to up export of persimmons to Arab countries
Azerbaijan intends to increase the export of persimmons to Arab countries in 2018, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Association of Persimmon Producers and Exporters Gadir Yusifov told Trend.
Yusifov added that Azerbaijan started to supply persimmons to Arab countries in 2017, but the volume of exported products was insignificant.
"Russia, Ukraine and Belarus mainly import persimmons from Azerbaijan, but we intend to supply persimmons to other countries in 2018," he said. "We started to export persimmons to Arab countries in 2017. Expansion of export of persimmons to Arab countries will be our main task in 2018."
"The association mainly focused on establishment of production and improvement of competitiveness of products in 2017," he said. "A lot of work was carried out to review the situation in the markets of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. We are constantly monitoring prices in these markets."
Yusifov said over 200,000 tons of persimmons were harvested in Azerbaijan in 2017, of which about 130,000 tons were exported.
"Presently, about 50,000 tons of persimmons are stored in warehouses," he said. "We are waiting for reasonable prices in markets to sell the rest of the products. I would like to stress that both the collection and export of persimmons increased in 2017."
The Azerbaijan Association of Persimmon Producers and Exporters was established in August 2017 on the initiative of entrepreneurs and with the support of the country's Ministry of Economy.
The main objectives of the association are to increase the production of competitive and export-oriented products, as well as expand the export of persimmons.
Azerbaijan exported persimmons worth $70 million in January-November 2017, according to the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications.
President Ilham Aliyev expands financial support for Azerbaijani exporters
Buyers missions will be organized in Azerbaijan and up to 30,000 manats will be allocated for analysis of potential sales markets.
This is stipulated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's decree on making amendments to the "Procedure for determination and regulation of the mechanism of paying a part of the expenditures through the state budget, the organization of export missions to foreign countries, review of the situation in foreign markets and marketing activity, promotion of the 'Made in Azerbaijan' brand in foreign markets, obtaining certificates and patents in connection with exports, research programs and export development projects by local companies in foreign countries".
The amendments envisage the introduction of a new concept - buyers missions. Buyers missions are organized for purchase of Azerbaijani non-oil products by a foreigner who is engaged in the import of goods or their distribution.
Only 10 people can join a buyers mission and the period of their stay in the country must not exceed six days. In each mission only one person can represent a buyer.
The Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy covers the expenses of the buyers mission members' stay in the country, which also include the fee for rental premises where meetings are held, fees for translation services, as well as fees for transportation within the country (except for taxi).
According to the decree, the amount given to legal entities and individuals for the analysis of foreign markets increases from 20,000 manats to 30,000 manats.
Moreover, the number of export missions, which can be organized with participation of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs during one calendar year, increases from 10 to 25. The number of international fairs and exhibitions, in which Azerbaijani businessmen can take part during one calendar year by using one exhibition stand, increases from 5 to 10.
Entrepreneurs who take part in international exhibitions and fairs on individual basis will receive financial support in the amount of 50 percent of all expenses necessary for participation, including rental fee, exhibition stand costs, transportation fee and others. The maximum amount of such support must not exceed 10,000 manats. Up until now, only 30 percent of expenses not exceeding 5,000 manats have been covered.
At the same time, exporters will be able to apply for support to obtain an international certificate from Feb. 1 within 60 days annually.
The cost of support must not exceed 60,000 manats and must account for no more than 50 percent of the total expenses.
EU hopes to ink aviation agreement with Azerbaijan this year
The EU hopes to sign a Common Aviation Area Agreement with Azerbaijan this year, Kestutis Jankauskas, head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan, told reporters in Baku.
Negotiations on the aviation agreement are almost complete, he said.
He voiced hope that the agreement will be signed in January-February this year.
Discussions on the Common Aviation Area Agreement between Azerbaijan and the EU will be held Jan. 27-30 during the visit of Director General of the European Commission's department for mobility and transport (DG MOVE) Henrik Hololei to Azerbaijan.
Creation of a common aviation area is an initiative of the European Commission and aims to open and integrate aviation markets. This will lead to new opportunities for consumers and operators, and, most importantly, to high standards in terms of flight safety as well as air traffic management.
EU eyes to continue dynamic co-op with Azerbaijan in 2018
The EU intends to continue dynamic cooperation with Azerbaijan in 2018, Kestutis Jankauskas, head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan, told reporters in Baku.
He noted that the negotiations on a new agreement on strategic partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan are progressing very well.
Last year, fruitful negotiations took place in all directions of cooperation, he said.
The day after the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels, the negotiators from both sides continued talks, he noted.
He expressed hope that the agreement will be initialed this year.
Almost half of Azerbaijan’s standards meet European standards
Some 45 percent of Azerbaijan's national standards meet international and European standards, the State Committee for Standardization, Metrology and Patent said in a message.
There are more than 20,000 interstate and 966 national standards in the state fund of regulatory documents on technical regulations and standardization of Azerbaijan, the message said.
Ninety-four of them are related to the petrochemical sector, 322 - to the conformity assessment, 148 - to the industrial sector, 22 - to the service sector, 249 - to the agriculture and food sector, and 107 standards are related to the construction sector.
Last year, 145 types of measuring tools were approved, a certificate of their approval was issued, and the measuring tools were included in the state registry.
Metrological examination of documents for 23 samples of standards was also carried out, and after that, the committee issued a positive conclusion and included them in the registry.
Azerbaijan discusses creating insurance market modernization mechanism
Creation of a mechanism of insurance market modernization is being discussed in Azerbaijan, the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FIMSA) said.
This issue was in focus at a meeting in FIMSA, chaired by Executive Director Ibrahim Alishov.
The meeting's participants also discussed maintaining the stability of macroeconomic situation and financial sector, obligations to consumers of financial services, improvement of the banking sector, development of the securities market and the integration of banks into capital markets.
FIMSA's tasks as part of the "Strategic Road Map on Development of Financial Services" and other issues were also discussed during the meeting.
Azerbaijan, WB mulling new loan within agricultural project
The World Bank (WB) continues to develop the concept of the third phase of the Azerbaijan Rural Investment Project (AzRIP-3) project, a source in the WB's Baku office told Trend.
According to the source, presently, the loan amount is being discussed.
"There are several options on the agenda," the office said. "One of those options implies the allocation of a loan worth $90 million, but this amount may be changed."
Earlier, Naveed Hassan Naqvi, head of WB Baku office, told Trend that the bank hopes to complete the concept development in early 2018. The amount of the loan will also determine the scope of the project and the Azerbaijani districts it will cover.
Naqvi noted that the cost of the AzRIP-3 could be about $50-100 million.
Implementation of the second phase of the agricultural investment project in Azerbaijan started in 2012. The project's cost is $53.6 million, and additional $50 million were allocated in 2014 as part of additional financing.
This project was created on the basis of results of the first phase, which increased the income of 600,000 farmers, improved irrigation services for 700,000 people. The project covers five main zones - Shirvan Plain, Mugan-Salyan, Nakhchivan, northern and northwestern zones.
Azerbaijan joined the World Bank Group in 1992.
