Azerbaijan, Baku, 7 March / Trend corr I. Khalilova/ The Deputy Director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department Lorenzo Peres will arrive in Baku on 10 March to hold consultations with the Azerbaijani Government on Article 4 of the Agreement on Establishment of IMF, the IMF Baku office reported on 7 March.
"He will join the mission which has been visiting Azerbaijan in this connection since 26 February," the IMF Baku office said.
The consultations will be completed on 12 March. The last time Lorenzo Peres visited Baku was in February 2007.
Consultations with the Government on Article 4 are held annually in all IMF member-states. The consultations are aimed at assessing the short-term and long-term tasks of the government to develop the economy. The mission usually develops a report at the end of the visit and brings it up for discussion to the Board of Directors of IMF.
It is already the third year that the Azerbaijani government is cooperating with IMF on the level of consultations within the framework of Article 4. The technical assistance of IMF in various areas is growing each year.
Azerbaijan joined IMF on 18 September 1992 and its quota in the organization is SDR 160.9mln ($248mln). As of 1 January 2008, the debts of Azerbaijan to the fund totalled to $100.6mln. Azerbaijan will pay back the Fund SDR 55.96mln ($88.9mln) in 2008-2012.
Koba Gvenetadze, the new head of the IMF Baku office took up his post on 14 February 2008.
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