In the News
Azerbaijan’s head discusses economic development with WB director
ABC.Az
March 06, 2012
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan received a delegation led by World Bank’s strategy & operations director Theodore Ahlers.
During the meeting Mr. Ahlers voiced satisfaction with his participation in discussions of the II High-Level Forum on Economic Policy, organized by the Government of Azerbaijan jointly with the WB. President Aliyev, in turn, stressed importance of the Forum. He stressed that in the coming years, after Azerbaijan finishes the first stage of economic development, further promotion to the non-oil sector was going to remain one of the key priority areas.
In the meeting it was expressed satisfaction with long successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the WB in the banking sector and belief that this cooperation will continue.
When addressing to the Forum participants the Azerbaijani President pointed out that by its consistent success in the field of socio-economic creativity achieved in the period after restoration of state independence, Azerbaijan had taken a worthy place in the world.
"For a short time, due to the rapid development of improved economic situation, the poverty rate has declined and significant progress has been made in various spheres of life. As a result of ongoing effective reforms our country, despite the global crisis, was able to maintain the momentum of development. The purpose of the new development strategy of Azerbaijan is to increase the welfare of the population, further increase in the level of national income and enhancing the competitiveness of the economy.
The strategy is aimed at effective implementation of the existing potential of the country, building a diversified and sustainable export-oriented economy. From this angle, it is worthy of approval that in the context of contemporary challenges the WB and authorized international experts are showing great interest in matters relating to the assessment of future possibilities of our country. I hope that during the Forum useful discussions will create a fertile ground for developing and implementing new concepts for the future development of our country," President Aliyev stated.
