Finance

Finance

EBRD: Azeri government should care about diversification of economy

26 January 2010 16:38 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev - APA-ECONOMICS. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has today presented its 2009 updated transition report for Central and Eastern Europe and CIS.

Francis Delaey, head of the EBRD office in Baku, said that Azerbaijan has had good cooperation with the EBRD since 1992.

"Last year EBRD allocated $260 million for 9 projects here", he added, describing the bankâ€™s activities in Azerbaijan.

Anita Taci, Senior Economist at the EBRD, added that economic growth stood at 9.3% in Azerbaijan in 2009 against the backdrop of global financial crisis.

"At the end of 2010, growth rate is projected to be 9%. If the forecast is reached, Azerbaijan will lead the region in terms of economic growth. GDP growth is expected to reach 8% in 2011,â€ she noted.

Anita Taci underlined that the recovery of fast economic growth after the global crisis requires diversification of the economy.

"Diversification process is a bit weak in Azerbaijan and the government should think about this,â€ she concluded.

Adalat Muradov, Economic Analysis Officer under the Ministry of Economic Development, said that last year’s crisis was a challenge to Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan managed to exit the crisis with minimal losses. The exchange rate of national currency was maintained steady, the central bank reduced the refinancing rate from 15% to 2%, the liquidity was brought up to 1.5 billion mantas,â€ he added.