Azerbaijan, Baku, July 14 / Trend , U.Ismaylova /
European Union will allocate €20 million to Azerbaijan to promote rural development and agriculture, the EU delegation in Azerbaijan said on July 14.
The goal of the program of financial assistance the European Commission is to diversify the economy of Azerbaijan by supporting the country's agricultural sector. This program, the report says, will help achieve a significant reduction in poverty, but also will contribute to economic growth.
The principal objective of this financial assistance programme is to diversify the economy of Azerbaijan through support to agricultural and rural development. With this programme, the EU assists Azerbaijan in carefully developing sound growth opportunities in the non-oil economy and to achieve sustainable reductions in poverty, thus addressing consequences of the country's known limited oil and gas reserves and overall economic growth, the press release says.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and the European Neighbourhood Policy, said: "Diversification of the economy is paramount for the long term development of Azerbaijan, in view of creating a basis for sustainable economic growth and employment and reducing inequalities between the regions and among the Azerbaijani population. I am pleased to note that diversification of the economy, including promotion of sustainable agricultural and rural development, has gained importance for the Azerbaijani government. The European Commission wants to build on this positive momentum."
With this €20 million allocation, the EU intends to increase access to safe quality food and stabilise food availability and supply. In addition, it encourages entrepreneurship in the field of agricultural and rural development by improving business environment and institutional capacity.
It is linked to the objectives of the "State programme on Reliable Food Supply" recently approved by the Government of Azerbaijan. The state programme's focus is to reduce the dependence of the domestic food market from imports and to create food reserves by increasing agricultural productivity in specific areas where Azerbaijan enjoys a comparative advantage.
Of the €20 million, €14 million are reserved for the agricultural and rural development support programme and €6 million to strengthen the capacity of the Azerbaijani administration for continuing the implementation of the ENP Action Plan as well as the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which have both been agreed between the Government of Azerbaijan and the EU in 2006 and 1996 respectively.
This €20 million allocation is provided through the EU's European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) which sets aside assistance funds annually to Azerbaijan and 16 other partner states along the EU's Eastern and Southern border. Azerbaijan has received similar allocations in previous years, supporting for example reform of the justice system and of the energy sector.
In addition to ENPI assistance funds, Azerbaijan also receives support from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and other programmes.
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