Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. I.Khalilova / The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Azerbaijan did not manage to complete preparations of the framework agreement on cooperation which regulates the bank operation in the country. Signing of the document was therefore postponed to 2008, stated the Deputy Minister of Economic Development Makail Jabbarov. A similar agreement was signed with Georgia in 2007.
The agreement is being considered at the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy and will include the obligations of Azerbaijan before the bank. The role of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, in cooperation with EIB, is to evaluate the projects. EIB demonstrated its willingness to invest $500mln in the development of the railway infrastructure of the country.
EIB is planning to finance projects at the expense of the European Union within the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy. The project will cover Georgia, Turkey and other regional countries.
EBRD and EIB stated its readiness to implement joint investments in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, South Caucasus and Central Asia. The Council of European Union is prepared to allocate € 3.7bln or € 500mln annually up to 2013 within the framework of the joint finance project.