The insurance business has turned into a profitable field in Azerbaijan, a conclusion enabled by estimates of government experts. 30 insurance companies operating in the country collected 147 million manats ($169 million) in fees but paid out only 35 million manats ($42.1 million) last year, according to the Finance Ministry. Thus, companies working in the field are channeling only a minor amount of the funds into insurance contributions. Only one company’s payments exceeded collections by th...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev who started a visit to the country’s western regions on Monday attended the ground-breaking ceremonies of several new enterprises in the city of Ganja. The facilities – Filizsaflashdirma ore refining company, a steel foundry complex and an aluminum plant – will be constructed to boost the development of Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector. 1,800 jobs will be opened when the enterprises are commissioned. The Ganja Steel Complex will produce a million tons of steel a...... полностью

The United States embassy has introduced changes to the Democracy Commission Small Grants Program for Azerbaijan. The program, implemented since 1997, allows local non-government organizations to implement projects aimed at democratic development with US funding and technical assistance. Under the changes that the embassy explained by the 2008 presidential elections, NGOs will be able to submit projects concerning democracy and elections throughout the year instead of twice a year. Moreover, ...... полностью

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has cited delays in the privatization of large state-owned enterprises in Azerbaijan. The bank conducted research on 29 transition economies worldwide jointly with the World Bank. The assessment was based on a 1 to 4+ point scale. 1 means that a given country has absolutely failed to do away with central planning of its economy, while 4+ indicates that standards inherent to the world’s developed countries are being applied there. ...... полностью

The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has allocated a $600,000 grant to the Azerbaijan State Social Protection Fund (SSPF) to assist the government in developing pension programs for the country’s citizens. A relevant agreement was signed by US Ambassador Anne Derse and SSPF Chairman Salim Muslimov on Monday. The grant will be used to partially fund technical assistance to review individual pension account systems in various countries and design a national system for Azerbaij...... полностью

Some Azerbaijani businesses could be relocated to Iran in the future as production costs in the neighboring country are two to three times below those in the domestic market, a reliable source said. If the relocation proves economically viable for both countries, the move will further depend on the outcome of political talks. Therefore, the measure remains under a question mark for the time being. The source also said that Iran played the role of an important transit state for Azerbaijan,...... полностью

A major foreign bank syndicate will allocate $500 million to Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR. The sides have signed a relevant loan covenant. BNP Paribas, Calyon, Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank (Rabobank), JPMorgan Chase Bank, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Ltd., the Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFG Ltd., as well as the Malta subsidiary of Akbank TAS acted as organizers of the credit during the initial syndication period. The loan will be disb...... полностью

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Steven Mann, is in Baku for energy talks. Several projects, including the trans-Caspian project will be discussed during the US official’s working visit. Mann held meetings at the Foreign Ministry and the state oil company SOCAR on Monday. He also exchanged views on cooperation in the energy sector with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The United States backs the trans-Caspian project that envisions taking the hydrocarb...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called on Hungarian businessmen to make hefty investments in the fast-growing South Caucasus republic on Tuesday as the two countries’ entrepreneurs gathered in Budapest to explore avenues for economic cooperation. “Azerbaijan is a country open for investments, and foreign investments exceeding $10 billion have been made in our country to date. These investments are protected well,” President Aliyev told the business forum that followed Monday’s talks with H...... полностью

Inflation will make up 16% in Azerbaijan in 2008, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) predicts. The Gross Domestic Product will grow 25% in the resource-rich South Caucasus republic this year, the bank said in its report. But government experts predict inflation at about 12%. The Azerbaijani government has pledged to contain price hikes at single digits or slightly above 10%. The report also said inflation indicators will be high, but average consumer prices are...... полностью

A conference on electronic schooling (e-school) and electronic management of education will be held in Baku on Thursday. Issues relating to the application of information technologies in the country’s secondary schools and electronic management of education will be discussed in the event dedicated to the results of a relevant pilot project implemented in Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies said. Minister of Education Misir Mardanov and other government o...... полностью

The Council of Europe mission on media issues arrived in Baku on Tuesday, an Azeri journalistic body head said. Chairman of the Yeni Nasil (New Generation) Union of Journalists, Arif Aliyev, told reporters that the visit of the mission also including British and French experts aimed to assess the current situation with media in Azerbaijan. During the visit to last till Friday, the delegation will meet with Azerbaijani officials as well as NGO and media representatives to discuss areas of a...... полностью

The flights from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Kabul, Afghanistan will be cancelled since Sunday over security concerns, Azerbaijan’s state airline AZAL said. “Although these flights are profitable, there are no guarantees of safety in the Afghan territory,” the AZAL spokesman Maharram Safarli said. “They will be resumed when the situation there stabilizes and the threat posed to the flights ceases to exist.” The flights between the two cities have been administered three times a week si...... полностью

The date for the next meeting of the working group on the Caspian legal status has been set. The once postponed talks may take place in early April, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Iran Abbasali Hasanov said. The diplomat said that the Caspian states made their positions closer during the talks held over the past few years. “But it is difficult to say something in advance,” Hasanov said. Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan have already signed bilateral agreements on the Caspian status, while Ir...... полностью

A fire took place in the Mayor’s Office of Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, on Wednesday morning. No serious damage was caused to the building of the Mayor’s Office as a result of the fire which broke out on the fourth floor – in the corridor of the Youth and Sport Department. The blaze was extinguished in a short period with two fire-fighting vehicles involved. The fire has been caused by overload in electrical conductor. It was determined during the accident that the fire e...... полностью

The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense Industry plans to launch production of bullet-proof vests, helmets and other personal protective items soon. “We are in talks on the matter with a number of influential companies of the world, including Israeli ones,” Minister Yaver Jamalov said. He did not rule out that the country would launch output of different types of military machinery in the near future. Jamalov said several facilities manufacturing military goods would be established in the re...... полностью

Azerbaijan is expected to agree the new price for natural gas exports to Georgia by March. The announcement was made by Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev in a meeting with the neighboring country’s Energy Minister Aleksandr Khetaguri on Wednesday. Both countries’ experts are currently working on a new draft agreement on the supplies, the Azerbaijani ministry told AssA-Irada. Georgia has been meeting its domestic demand on account of Azeri gas since last year. Azerbaijan now int...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received on Wednesday a Tajik delegation led by Minister of Economic Development and Trade Ghulomjon Bobozoda. Bobozoda said that the newly set up working group of the Tajikistan-Azerbaijan intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation had held several meetings in Baku. The next meeting of the group will take place in Dushanbe this year, he said. The Azerbaijani leader recalled his meetings with Tajik President and said that issues on increasing tr...... полностью

New money will be released into circulation in Azerbaijan, the central banker has said. The National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA) has passed a decision to issue coins worth 1 manat ($1.2) and 200 manat banknotes. The 1 manat banknotes already in circulation will still be used thereafter, the NBA board chairman Elman Rustamov said. He said the measure was due to the excess of money in use. “Relevant proposals have been prepared and discussions are under way.” According to a presidential decr...... полностью

The state-owned share of Azerbaijan’s leading cellular provider Azercell has been privatized. A relevant agreement was signed at the State Committee on Property Management on Monday. The share was offered to the other founder of the company, Turkey’s Azertel Telecommunication Investment Foreign Trade Co. Inc, and the proposal was accepted. The acquisition makes the Turkish company the sole proprietor of the cellular operator. The shares that amount to 35.7% of Azercell’s overall stock are...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has pointed to existing hurdles for entrepreneurial activity in the country. “At times officials put forth baseless demands to entrepreneurs, and I am aware that such negative instances have yet to be fully eliminated,” he told a conference on Monday dedicated to the four-year outcomes of the state program on socio-economic development of the regions. The head of state instructed mayors and heads of relevant bodies attending the event not to impede the wo...... полностью

Azerbaijan is about to raise the sales price for the gas produced from its biggest offshore field Shahdaniz, Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev says. “Under the existing agreement, Azeri gas should be sold to Turkey for $120 per 1,000 cubic meters within a year since production begins. After that, the sales price is to be raised,” he told reporters on Monday. Aliyev said the company in charge of selling gas has already launched talks on the matter. “I believe that Azerbaijan shou...... полностью

Azerbaijan’s refineries are able to refine only 60% of produced gas, Minister of Energy and Industry Natig Aliyev told the press. He was replying to a question concerning the rising death toll from carbon dioxide in the country that has already reached 20, according to official estimates. “There are no capacities to fully refine gas, which necessitates increasing the capacity of local refineries,” Aliyev said, adding that this would require considerable funds. The minister said that on ...... полностью

Food allowances allocated by the state to internally displaced persons (IDPs) will be increased this year, an official said. The Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee on Work with Refugee sand IDPs Ali Hasanov told reporters that food allowances for IDPs currently make up 9 manats per capita. Although the figure is low, the amount of funds allocated for the purpose is great in general, he said. Hasanov said that 67 million manats was allocated from the state budget in 200...... полностью

Inflation could be contained at single digits in Azerbaijan in 2008 if price hikes in world markets subside, Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev says. “The increase is predicted to range between 11% and 13% under the 2008 budgetary package,” he told a board meeting of the ministry on Wednesday. Babayev noted that external factors contributed to price rises in the country last year. Inflation made up 16% in 2007, according to official figures, but informal sources put the indica...... полностью

2007 marked remarkable accomplishments in all spheres of Azerbaijan’s socio-economic development, Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev told a board meeting on the outcomes of last year on Wednesday. Babayev noted that the country maintained its leadership in the world on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2007, which amounted to 25%. GDP exceeded 25.2 billion manats ($30 billion), or 6.5 billion manats above the previous year. Per capita GDP increased 23.6% to $3,473. The coun...... полностью

German company RWЕ has become the sixth shareholder of the project on building the NABUCCO pipeline that will take Caspian gas to European markets. The company’s participation in the project was endorsed in Vienna. Chief executive officer of RWE Gas Midstream Stefan Judisch expressed confidence that the $6 billion project would step up the security of Europe’s gas supplies. Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler told the ceremony that he saw no hurdles in the way of implementing the project o...... полностью

A German church was re-opened after rehabilitation in Azerbaijan’s northwestern Khanlar District on Wednesday. The Lutheran Church, which was built in 1854, was overhauled by the German Technical Cooperation Society (GTZ). German Ambassador to Azerbaijan Per Stankina, head of the district executive power Arif Seyidov and GTZ representatives as well as MPs and others attended the event. Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Stankina assessed the rehabilitation of the church as a sign of coop...... полностью

An 18-year-old Azeri girl accused of infecting some 200 people with the deadly Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was convicted by a Baku district court on Wednesday. The court ruled that Elnara Ahmadova was at fault and ordered a nine-month jail sentence. However, the teenager has already spent seven months in detention and will now serve only the rest of her sentence. Ahmadova had failed to notify her sexual partners that she was infected with the virus, public prosecutors said.*... читать

Grain production will surge in Azerbaijan in 2008 to hit record highs compared to last year, Minister of Agriculture Ismat Abbasov told reporters. “Additional grain was sown in an area of 129,000-130,000 hectares in 2007. This means that there will be reserves of additional 300,000 tons of wheat this year,” he said.*... читать