A business-forum within the framework of annual meeting of the Managers of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) started in Baku on 12 June. Opening the event Vahid Akhundov, the state adviser to the Azerbaijani President on the economic issues, read out greeting appeal by the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to the participants in the forum, Trend reports.
Over the past few years the actively in the Black sea basin increased considerably, the appeal says. I hope it will continue in years to come. Azerbaijan attaches great importance to regional cooperation. As the Black Sea basin is in the border of East and West, it will play considerable role in the integration of Azerbaijan into the European community, the President stressed in his appeal.
Taking the floor Heydar Babayev, the Azerbaijani Minister for Economic Development, said that some 200 people were in attendance at the business forum. The meeting will mull the strengthening of economic cooperation. He familiarized the participants in the forum with the economic achievements of the country.
In 2005 the economic growth in Azerbaijan exceeded 26%. Rise in the non-oil sector exceeded 10%. Azerbaijan is going to continue the development of economy, in particular, the infrastructure, with consideration of big revenues that country will achieve in the subsequent 5-10 years. Despite the implementation of big projects such as BTC and SCP, rise of the non-oil sector exceeded the oil sector. The most important is to direct the potential to the increase of employment and development of education system, ensure durable development, Babayev underlined.
He noted that the countrys political course also targets the expansion of cooperation in the Black sea region. There was established State Investment company in the country, which promotes flow of the foreign capital for the participation in the Azerbaijani projects, he said.
The President of the BSTDB, Khayrettin Kaplan, said that all terms for cooperation have been established in the Black Sea basin. It testifies for the development of countries of the region, which starting from 2000 lacked only China for the level of economic growth. The world economic growth was 2.7% in 2000-2005, in the European zone it ranged to 1.7% and in the Black Sea region - 5%. The highest growth pace was fixed in Azerbaijan, which exceeded 26%, the President of the BSTDB underlined.
