The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) on behalf of the government of Azerbaijan and the Asian Bank of Development (ABD) signed a grant agreement.
The agreement regulates the issues of funding Azerbaijan in the amount of $850,000 for implementation of the state program preparation on poverty reduction and further human development for 2006-2015, Trend reports.
The documents were signed by the Minister of Economic Development, Farhad Aliyev and the head of the Baku ABD office Matthew Westfall.
As Aliyev noted, the total project’s cost is $1,070,000, from which $850,000 are granted by ABD, $220,0000 is the government’s share. Aliyev noted, from the moment of the poverty reduction and the economic development program 2002-2005 implementation, the poverty level has reduced from 49% of the population to 40% in 2005.
Matthew Westfall said, it is crucially important for ADB to facilitate implementation of projects related to the poverty reduction and increase of the life standard level.
It should be noted, the grant mentioned is one of the components for realization of the Joint Declaration on preparation of the lasting strategy on poverty reduction and permanent development up to 2015 targeted at the achievement of the Millenium Development Goal.
The Declaration was signed on 12 May between the government of Azerbaijan and resident missions of ABD, EBRD IMF, the UNO Development Program and the World Bank. Under the Declaration the above-mentioned international structures find it expedient to continue joint projects in the framework of “The State Program of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction”.
The document notes, the Azerbaijan’s government set the goal to develop the strategy for lasting development covering the period of 2006-2015. The strategy determines the government’s political priorities on poverty reduction by 2015 and achieving the Millenium Development Goals.
Political priorities will be defined by means of discussions among the broadest layers of the society and coordinated with the revenue forecast and budget expenditures.
Along with this, the international financial institutions (IFI) will perform the relevant monitoring, particularly, ABD will start assessment of the state program implementation results, will render technical support in budgeting and cost estimates, and will carry out relevant monitoring; EBRD will actively support the small and the medium-size entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan, measures on management strengthening; IMF will render technical support, assist in budgeting of the events to be held and will coordinate their implementation process, UNDP will render organizational technical support in poverty monitoring at the regional and the country level, World Bank in its next Country Facilitation Strategy will provide priorities of the new humanitarian strategy. Discussions between IFI and the Azerbaijan’s government commenced in the current May, development of strategy and cost estimates will be completed by December.