Azerbaijan Country Presentation
Opening Remarks by
Mr. Liqun Jin
Vice President - Operations Group 1
Asian Development Bank
At the 39th ADB Annual Meeting
3 May 2006
Hyderabad, India
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honor for me to welcome you on behalf of the Asian Development Bank, to the Country Presentation on Azerbaijan, one of our newest member countries, and to introduce today's speaker, Mr. Mikayel Jabbarov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, who is heading Azerbaijan's delegation this year at ADB's Annual Meeting.
Let me first take note of Azerbaijan's remarkable economic growth, which I was pleased to witness first hand during my visit to Baku last year. Averaging over 10% a year over the past 10 years, Azerbaijan's growth is expected to reach an unprecedented rate of 30.5% in 2006. The country now has a high level of foreign investment, macroeconomic condition is stable, and the Government has stated it is determined to keep inflation under control. Despite this impressive growth, the poverty level still remains high. The economic disparity in terms of incomes, employment opportunities, and access to essential services between the urban and regional areas remains wide. Much work remains to be done.
The Government of Azerbaijan recognizes this development challenge. It has taken positive actions through the implementation of a number of significant economic development programs. The State Program for Economic and Social Development of the Regions (2004 - 2008), incepted 2 years ago, is one of the most important of these initiatives. This program aims to improve the living conditions and standards of the people, especially the poor, by creating new business opportunities and jobs, promoting efficient use of scarce resources, and improving access to essential services, such as electricity, water and sanitation, education and health.
On our part, the Asian Development Bank is a committed development partner and shares similar objectives and aspirations as the Government of Azerbaijan to reduce poverty and promote economic growth in the non-oil sectors, and with a focus in the regions. We have been working closely with the Government and other key stakeholders to coordinate efforts and assistance to help achieve the Program's objectives, and I personally look forward to a growing engagement and partnership together.
I would also note that ADB is currently preparing the Country Strategy and Program (CSP) for 2007 - 2009. The CSP will be an important vehicle that will enable ADB to engage more closely with the Government, and strengthen ADB's role as a source of knowledge for policy, strategy implementation, innovative project design, and sound implementation. The CSP will also allow ADB to coordinate more effectively with other development partners, and will be prepared in line with the Government's development priorities; ADB's new organizational strategies and policies, comparative strengths; and a results-based framework to achieve maximum development impact and deliver tangible, measurable results.
I now take great pleasure in introducing Deputy Minister of Economic Development Mikayel Jabbarov, who has been both a strong ally and good friend to ADB. Mr. Jabbarov has been deputy minister of economic development of the Republic of Azerbaijan since February 2004. Previous to this post, he served as a President of Investments Promotion and Advisory Foundation, and as an Advisor to the Minister of Economic Development. A lawyer by training, Deputy Minister also worked for a number of years with a leading international law firm in Baku. Mr. Jabbarov graduated Baku State University, Faculty of International Law and International Relations in 1997. In 1998, he obtained a Master's degree at McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, in Sacramento, California. He also holds MBA degree from Azerbaijan State Economic University.
Deputy Minister Jabbarov, welcome, and we look forward to your presentation, to be followed by a short period for questions and answers.
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