Social and labor practices in some joint ventures and businesses with foreign capital operating in Azerbaijan are in violation of the national legislation and employees’ rights, the local trade unions body said. “Observations show that rights violations mostly occur in foreign companies. In a number of these businesses, employers impede the establishment of trade unions and the signing of collective agreements,” chairman of the Confederation of Azerbaijani Trade Unions, Sattar Mehbaliyev, sai...... полностью

The world champion for child rights UNICEF has condemned the trial of an 18-year-old girl infected with the deadly Human Immunodeficiency Virus in a statement issued on Tuesday. A Baku district court is expected to deliver a sentence on the case of the HIV-infected girl, Elnara Ahmadova, who is facing criminal charges of deliberately infecting some 200 people with HIV, on Wednesday. “UNICEF is concerned that the girl child affected by the situations of sale, prostitution and pornography co...... полностью

The Congress of European Azerbaijanis (CEA) intends to open a school for Azerbaijani children in Italy. The proposal on opening the “Weekend” school was made in a meeting of the CEA president Natig Aghamirov with Azerbaijanis during his visit to Italy, according to the State Committee on Work with Azerbaijanis Living Abroad. The measure aims to help Azerbaijani children master their native language, maintain distinct national and moral values as well as to bring together Azerbaijanis livin...... полностью

A forum of Azerbaijani students in France started in Paris on Tuesday. Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports Azad Rahimov, President of the state oil company SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev and the President’s Office international relations department head Novruz Mammadov are participating in the event organized in the French Senate. Bernard Fassier, French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, and officials of several co...... полностью

High indicators were achieved in Azerbaijan’s economic and social development in 2007, the State Statistics Committee chairman Arif Valiyev says. He told a press conference on the outcomes of the year on Wednesday that the Gross Domestic Product, a key macro-economic figure indicating the country’s growth, increased 25% to reach 25.2 billion manats ($30 billion). Most of the GDP – 59.2% - was made up by the industries, while smaller percentages – by other fields such as agriculture and forest...... полностью

Russian giant Inter RAO EES plans to raise the price for electricity sold to Azerbaijan, an energy executive said. “We have received a new proposal from the Russian side. We are scrutinizing it jointly with the government and will state our position on the matter by April 10,” vice-president of the state-owned energy producer Azerenergy, Marlen Asgarov, said. RAO EES intends to raise the price for electric power by 30%. To offset the hike, it has offered for Azerbaijan to raise the price f...... полностью

Poverty kept dropping in Azerbaijan to make up 16% as of late 2007, the State Statistics Committee chairman told a press conference on the outcomes of the year on Wednesday. Arif Valiyev recalled that the figure was 20.8% in 2006, saying the rapid reduction of the poverty level was driven by the rising income of the population and wages of citizens. Another key reason for the improvement is the opening of a great number of jobs in the country. Valiyev pledged that the process will be cont...... полностью

Inflation made up 16.7% in Azerbaijan in 2007, the state statistics body said while drawing up the outcomes of last year. “This was an undesirable development in the national economy,” the State Statistics Committee chairman Arif Valiyev told the press Wednesday. Food prices rose 16.2%, whole those on other goods – 10.5%, and fees on services 25.3%. Inflation made up 2.5% in December alone. Valiyev said outside factors were among those that affected domestic prices. “Some 45% of the de...... полностью

Representatives of the United Nations nuclear watchdog have started official meetings in Baku. On Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) representatives had meetings at the Health Ministry and the Cabinet of Ministers. During the third such visit in the past year and a half, the agency officials tabled the proposals submitted by Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani government has recently informed the IAEA that it planned to build a radiation treatment facility and a nuclear rese...... полностью

The population of Azerbaijan increased 1.1% over the past year to make up 8,630,000, including 4,253,000 men and 4,377,000 women, as of early January, the State Statistics Committee chairman Arif Valiyev said. He told reporters that 152,000 babies were born in 2007, or 3,100 over last year, while 53,700 people died. The committee head said that according to estimates, in 2007 the increase in the number of population was 98,300 people, or 1,600 over last year.*... читать

An Azerbaijani delegation led by Minister of Economic Development Heydar Babayev left for Estonia and Latvia on Monday. The delegation includes representatives of the Ministry, Azerbaijan Foundation for Export and Investment Promotions (AZPROMO) and Azerbaijan Investment Company as well as businessmen. The prospects of Azerbaijan’s economic cooperation with Estonia and Latvia will be discussed during the visit. Babayev will meet with Estonia’s Prime Minister, Parliament Speaker, Minis...... полностью

Kazakhstan’s leading telecommunications company KazakhTelecom plans to buy assets of Azerbaijani companies. The joint-stock company’s board chairman Askar Jumangaliyev said the purchases were part of the giant’s plans on the acquisition of assets abroad. “We intend to take part in the privatization of rampantly developing assets of Tajikistan’s... читать

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received on Monday Saeed Abdul Jalil Mohammed Al Fahim, Chairman of the International Investment Bank (IIB), a globally focused investment bank based in Bahrain. The parties exchanged views on IIB’s cooperation with Azerbaijani banks and its participation in the investment projects being implemented in the country and the ones still in the offing.*... читать

Georgian officials are due in Baku to discuss prices for the supplies of Azeri gas to the neighboring country that were suspended early this month, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizada told the press in Tbilisi where he attended the inauguration of the new Georgian president. He said the price issue was not only up to the Azerbaijani government but also depended on the volume of gas produced in the capital Baku and the views of local companies selling gas. “It would be better if the ...... полностью

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Project Manager for Azerbaijan Andrei Chupov was expected to start his visit to Baku on late Monday. The goal of the three-day visit is to study the situation with implementation of planned projects on Azerbaijan as well as hold discussions on execution of five projects within technical cooperation. Chupov will also hold meetings in Azerbaijan’s relevant bodies.*... читать

Inflation made up about 29% in Azerbaijan in 2007, a local research group has said, despite government projections citing a figure twice below that level. The consumer price index rose 28.96%, with a 30.04% increase registered in the capital Baku and 27.58% in the country’s regions, according to the Economic Research Center (ERC) that calculates inflation using alternative methods. Head of the center Gubad Ibadoglu said the highest price hikes were observed in fees on services – 40.28%, wh...... полностью

Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR could buy out a Georgian gas distribution company that will be sold after hopes were dampened for other foreign investors, Georgia’s media reported. The decision to put KazTransGas Tbilisi on sale this spring came after Kazakh investors that are already working in the South Caucasus republic failed to strike a common ground with the Georgian government. Under the tender terms, all of the company’s 29 gas distribution networks except the ones operating in th...... полностью

The supplies of Azeri gas to Georgia have been suspended, Azerbaijan’s state-controlled supplier Azerigas said. The company’s president Alikhan Malikov said all of the commitments stipulated by a relevant contract signed by the two countries have been met but a new agreement is now to be inked to resume gas deliveries to the neighboring South Caucasus republic. “Talks on the issue continue with the Georgian side,” he added. Georgia has been meeting its domestic demand on account of Azeri g...... полностью

Paid medical services in the clinics included in the structure of Ministry of Health and budgetary medical institutions will be abolished starting on February 1, as Minister Ogtay Shiraliyev issued an order in this regard on Thursday. The adoption of the decision is due to the fact that the state funds allocated for healthcare increase every year, the logistics of medical centers strengthens and advanced forms of management are applied in the country, the Ministry of Health said.*... читать

The European Court of Human Rights issued three rulings on Azerbaijan on Thursday. One of the cases was brought by Elchin Abbasov who maintained that his rights to fair trial set forth in a relevant European convention had been violated during the consideration of an appeal on his sentence in the absence of the defendant. The court upheld Abbasov’s plea and ruled that the Azerbaijani government is required to pay him 1,000 euros in damages. Another ruling concerned a plea filed by the head...... полностью

Cooperation between Azerbaijan and the United States will be further expanded, President Ilham Aliyev said receiving US Senator Richard Lugar on Monday. President Aliyev said that the successful Azerbaijan-US cooperation would contribute to security of the region. He also expressed hope that the US Senator’s visit to Azerbaijan would promote development of partnership in strategic fields. Lugar, for his part, stressed firm partnership relations between Azerbaijan and the United States. H...... полностью

The world’s leading banks are entering Azerbaijan’s market, the country’s central banker has said. German Commerzbank and US Citibank intend to launch operation in Azerbaijan in 2008, the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA) board chairman Elman Rustamov said. “These banks initially established representations in the country. Starting this year, the status of these representations will be increased and they will be turned into subsidiaries,” Rustamov said. Analysts say that the entry of n...... полностью

A raise in interest rates on social mortgages that aim to provide affordable housing to citizens would be unacceptable and bring about an end to the concessional mortgage system in Azerbaijan, local analysts have warned. The State Mortgage Fund, a body in charge of such allocations operating under the central bank, has offered to raise the rates from the current 4% to 7% to increase its charter capital. But experts from the Economic and Social Development Center said higher interest on social...... полностью

Chinese state oil firm CNOOC is seeking to participate in new projects being implemented in Azerbaijan, the company’s vice-president Sun Sian-Sheng said on a visit to Baku. “We are looking to expand existing cooperation with the state oil company SOCAR,” he said. Sian-Sheng said the delegation he is heading comprises representatives of numerous joint ventures with the corporation’s capital operating in Azerbaijan. He pointed to the high level of cooperation between the two countries, ...... полностью

Four officers of the Azerbaijani peacekeeping contingent in Iraq have been conferred with the Order of Achievement of the US Navy and Marine Corps, the Ministry of Defense said. So far, five Azerbaijani officers have been conferred with this award. The Azerbaijani peacekeepers have been repeatedly awarded by the leadership of NATO and Multinational Forces. A peacekeeping detachment was established within the Azerbaijani Army in 1997. Later a peacekeeping battalion was set up and is curre...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev has described the year 2007 as successful for the Azerbaijani economy. Addressing a cabinet meeting dedicated to the outcomes of last year and objectives facing the country in 2008, Aliyev emphasized that the country’s Gross Domestic Product grew 25%. Thus, economic growth in Azerbaijan has made up 96% in the past four years as a result of economic reforms, an unprecedented development around the world. Industrial production increased 24% in 2007. The president con...... полностью

An Azerbaijani-Belarusian business forum started in Baku on Friday. A 15-people strong delegation from Belarus led by First Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Food Nadezhda Kotkovets is attending the two-day event organized by the Azerbaijan Economic Development Ministry and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO). The Azerbaijani side is represented by government officials, the Azerbaijan Investment Company, AZPROMO and representatives of 30 companies. The sides...... полностью

Azerbaijan’s broadcasting regulator has authorized the broadcasts of a number of TV programs in foreign languages, the National Television and Radio Council (NTRC) chairman Nushiravan Maharramli said Friday. The Council had earlier forbidden the broadcasts of feature films and documentaries in languages other than Azeri since January 1. Turkish was not cited as a foreign language as it is understood by the overwhelming majority of citizens. “At a meeting we had today, a decision was adopte...... полностью

Azerbaijan is among leading states for religious tolerance unlike Armenia, a California-based publication said. The conclusion was made by the editor of La Opinion, a major Spanish-language newspaper in Los Angeles, after he visited Azerbaijan. Gabriel Lerner wrote in a story carried by the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles that the local community and Jews in the eight-million nation have lived side by side for many years without tension. For comparison’s sake, he indicated that whereas 12,0...... полностью

Azerbaijan’s first lady Mehriban Aliyeva met with Sandra Roelofs, the wife of Georgia’s presidential hopeful Mikhail Saakashvili, in Baku on Friday, spokesman for the Georgian embassy in Baku said. Mamuka Balavadze told reporters that Roelof’s visit to Baku aims to discuss issues on cooperation between the two countries in the humanitarian and cultural fields as well as in the health sector. She will also visit several medical and cultural centers.*... читать