News digest

OIL FUND REGULATIONS ENACTED

President Aliyev decreed Friday to enact the Regulations on the State Oil Fund. It says that SOCAR is required to transfer the means accumulated in the Oil Fund to a special National Bank account before January 5, 2001. The NBA, in its turn, is to forward, within 15 days, proposals on keeping the means in highly rated and internationally prestigious banks.

RAPID REACTION GROUP TO BE SET UP IN BLACK SEA

6 Black Sea littoral states - Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Georgia - are expected to sign an agreement on setting up a Black Sea Naval Interaction Force in March 2001.

Each country will allot a warship for the Force. Besides, an expert surveillance center will monitor the group's actions. The objective being pursued is to conduct peacemaking and rescue operations in the Black Sea basin.

Establishment of the group comes in view of the anticipated accumulation of over 30 million tons of Azeri, Russian and Kazakh oil in the Black Sea basin in the near future.

GABALA RLS DAMAGE TO BE REIMBURSED

An agreement on the status of the Gabala Radio Location Station (RLS) is currently in preparation, as an expert commission comprising both Azeri and Russian specialists is scrutinizing the deal. The agreement is to be signed during Russian President Putin's official visit to Azerbaijan in January 2001, according to a diplomatic source.

The draft agreement dwells on taxation, land lease, water- and electricity- supplies, etc. Experts are also discussing the issue of Russia's reimbursing the damage caused by the station to the ecology and population.

PARTIES SUBMIT ELECTION PROTOCOLS

The Constitution Protection Congress (CPC) is currently reviewing some 4,500 copies of initial protocols collected from district election commissions after the November 5 parliament election, deputy chairman of the Congress Ilgar Rahimli told Azernews Tuesday.

According to him, a committee of 3 groups has been set up under the Congress and if the number of votes cast in favor of the opposition exceeds the officially announced figure, it will corroborate the falsified election allegations.

EU DELEGATION EXPECTED ON VISIT

According to a competent source, General Secretary of the European Community Council Javier Solana is expected to visit Baku in February. He will be accompanied by the head of the EC commission on foreign relations Chris Paten and Swedish foreign minister Anna Lind.

The EU delegation will focus on issues of cooperation of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus region with the EU. EU representatives are scheduled to meet with President Aliyev, foreign minister and parliament speaker.

Afterwards, the delegation will travel to Armenia and Georgia.

M8BN TO BE INVESTED IN AGRARIAN SECTOR

The government intends to invest 8 billion manats in the agrarian sector of the economy in 2001, according to the minister for agriculture Irshad Aliyev. The amount is significantly below the sector requirements, therefore, the government keeps attracting international financial institutes to crediting the agricultural sphere of the economy.

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