Baku, Azerbaijan, June 12
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects the updated country operations business plan (COBP) on Azerbaijan to be agreed in the country’s government by July 1, Nariman Mannapbekov, head of ADB Azerbaijan office, told Trend.
“ADB works out, or updates country operations business plan on a regular basis. We discussed the updated version of the COBP with Azerbaijani government officials and submitted it for consideration,” he said.
Further, Mannapbekov said that this year, the ADB will primarily focus on preparing the feasibility study for the North-South Transport Corridor project, as well as rendering assistance in deepening structural reforms in the country’s financial sector.
“If the Azerbaijani government requests for ADB assistance, it will be possible to submit the project for financing the North-South Transport Corridor for the approval of the ADB Board of Directors by late 2017,” he added.
Earlier, Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank Wencai Zhang said that rendering assistance in implementing the structural reforms will be one of the directions of the bank’s new three-year plan on Azerbaijan.
“The plan will also cover such new areas of cooperation as vocational education, urban governance and development of alternative energy sources," he added.
ADB was founded in 1966 and has 67 member states. The bank’s headquarters is located in Manila, Philippines. Azerbaijan became an ADB member on Dec.22, 1999. The country accounts for 0.5 percent of the bank’s capital.
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