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WASHINGTON HOSTS SEMINAR ON HARMONY OF CIVILIZATIONS
From February 23 till 25, Washington hosted an international seminar, "Dialogue and harmony of civilizations", organized by the International and Inter-religious Federation of the World and the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, says president of the Association of Azerbaijan Culture Fuad Mammadov.
According to him, it was a very large event attended by around 300 NGO leaders, scientists, teachers, public and religious figures from 90 countries all over the world.
INT'L CONFERENCE ON REFUGEES EXPECTED
Baku is expected to host an international conference dedicated to the problems of refugees from March 12 till 14, to be organized by local NGOs. The conference will be attended by representatives of several foreign NGOs, a source from the NGO Forum told Azernews Saturday.
The conference is expected to focus on "Tensions, dilemmas and asylum opportunities pending long-term solutions in the Caucasus".
AROUND 400 NGOs IN AZERBAIJAN
There are currently around 400 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Azerbaijan. According to a source from ISAR-Azerbaijan, the number and proportions of NGO activities in Azerbaijan is lower than elsewhere in CIS. Most of them deal with humanitarian, youth and environmental issues.
REFUGEE CHILDREN RECEIVE ENCYCLOPEDIA
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Exxon Azerbaijan distributed the sixth and seventh volumes of the Children's Encyclopedia among the children of refugees and IDPs in the Sabirabad, Saatli and Bilasuvar refugee camps. These encyclopedias were published by Ayna Publishing House with financial support from Exxon Azerbaijan. The new volumes are dedicated to sports, ecology and, like the first five volumes, written in the Azeri Latin alphabet.
EXXON SPONSORS ENGLISH LANGUAGE COMPETITION
Exxon Azerbaijan Operating Company LLC (Exxon Azerbaijan) sponsored a three-round English language competition organized by Kainat Youth Center. Children of two age groups (aged between 9 and 13, and between 13 and 16 years) participated in the competition.
Finally, a total of 12 children won prizes including the grand prize, prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners from each age category, and five special prizes for the most active participants of the competition. In addition, all semifinalists received diplomas with a seal and signatures of representatives of the sponsoring organization and the organization committee and small presents from Exxon Azerbaijan.
TINNED MEAT OF SUSPICIOUS QUALITY ON SALE
Chairman of the Union of Free Consumers Ayyub Husseinov told Azernews Tuesday that a Baku resident Alikhan Aliyev had appealed to the Union saying that a can of Russian-made meat he had bought in a supermarket recently tasted somewhat different from beef.
A subsequent analysis proved that the product was made of meat of an unidentified animal.
Ayyub Husseinov said measures are being taken and called on the population to exercise caution.
OVER THOUSAND EMPLOYED IN JANUARY
In January 2001, 1,108 people were provided with jobs through employment agencies. Besides, 1,331 have received the status of the unemployed, 1,601 entitled to an unemployment allowance, 34 sent to upgrade courses and 16 involved in payable community works, according to the senior employment department.
93% OF HOUSES BUILT AT POPULATION'S EXPENSE
20,500 square meters of dwelling space were commission in January 2001, or 8.3% over 2000. 19,000 square meters (93%) of housing was built at population's expense and 1,500 square meters (7%) at the expense of state-owned organizations.
OVER HALF OF CARGOES TRANSPORTED BY AUTOMOBILES
In January 2001, public transport vehicles transported 7.8 million tons of cargoes, or 24% over 2000. 52% of the cargoes were transported by automobiles, 18.2% by pipelines, 19.6% by railway, and 10.2% by sea.
55% (4.3 million tons) of the cargoes were transported by private sector vehicles.
FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN FIXED ASSETS PREVAILS
In January 2001, AZM272 billion, or 0.7% over 2000, were made in fixed assets from all financial sources. Of this amount, AZM162 billion (59.6%) is foreign investment and AZM110 billion (40.4%) local.
80.4% of the investment in fixed assets was spent on industrial construction.
PASSENGER TRANSPORTS AUGMENTING
In January 2001, 74.3 billion passengers, or 3.5% over 2000, used public transport vehicles. The growth was observed on all types of public transport, including underground. 97% of those using the services of automobile vehicles were conveyed by private sector vehicles.
62,000 passengers, 22.3% over last year, used air transport. 18% preferred private airlines.
STATE ENTERPRISES PAY AZM1.5 TRILLION IN TAX
In 2000, state-owned enterprises paid AZM1.5 trillion in tax, or 35% over 1999 and 7.7% above forecast. 88.6% of the amount was paid by 8 organizations: SOCAR, Ministry of Communication, "AzerEnergy", Railway, "AzAL", Caspian Shipping Company, "AzerKimya", and "AzeriGas". The organizations have paid tax 15% over the forecast and 44.3% over 1999.
Individually, however, "AzAL", Ministry of Communication and "AzerKimya" were short of their performance target.
FOOD MAKES UP TWO THIRDS OF TURNOVER
In January 2001, food totaling AZM662.3 billion and non-food items totaling AZM313.1 billion were sold to the population. The share of food in retail network made up 67.6%.
Marketing of food has risen 8.1% and of non-food items 12.9%.
PRODUCTION BOOM THANKS TO OIL EXTRACTION
In January 2001, industrial production volume surged 0.4% to 2000. The boost is mainly attributed to the noticeable increase in oil production by bp. In other sectors, production dwindled, with gas extraction decreasing 8%, of which natural gas 11% and associated gas 5%.
Other production sectors have also been in recession, with road metal production reducing 70% and salt 16%.
WHOLESALE PRICES ON INDUSTRIAL GOODS RISING
In January 2001, prices on industrial goods rose 9.1% to 2000. Wholesale prices in processing industry rose 0.9%, in chemical production 6.6% and in mechanical engineering 11.3%.
OVER THREE QUARTERS OF INDUSTRIAL WORKERS EMPLOYED IN STATE SECTOR
In January 2001, some 200,000 people, or 5% over 2000, were employed with small, medium and large industrial enterprises. 77% of industrial workers were employed in the state sector and the rest in private.
The state sector personnel has dwindled and private sector risen.
67% of those engaged in industry work in processing industries, 17% in the manufacturing sector and 16% in electricity, gas and water supply.
PRIVATE INDUSTRY SHARE UP
In 2000, 42.6%, or 7.8 trillion manats, of total industrial output was made up of the private sector. In 1999, this figure constituted 33%.
As where total industrial production in 2000 rose 6.9%, the growth in private sector made up 12%.
TWO-THIRDS OF PAYABLE SERVICES BY REGISTERED ENTERPRISES
In 2000, officially registered enterprises provided payable services totaling AZM1.6 trillion (66.7% of total services), or 3.7% over 1999.
The total amount of payable services constituted AZM2.4 trillion, while growth rate made up 5.8%. Judging by the figures, the unofficial sector was developing more dynamically.
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Issue No.10(192), 2001
No truce achieved in Paris talksPresident urges osce to take resolute stepsAzeri, Ukrainian parliaments sign for co-opPro-musavat demcongress hails Paris talksNew WB initiative launchedSheik congratulates muslims on Gurban BayramiNews digestNationParliament newsOpposition newsEcologyNews in briefBusinessOil & gas news
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