Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.15 / Trend I.Khalilova /
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) postponed consultations with the Azerbaijani government on Article IV of the Agreement on establishment of IMF, which are held annually on a regular basis, government source said on Aug.15.
"Initially, the visit of mission of the IMF Department on Middle East and Central Asia (MCD) was scheduled for mid 2009, then for September, but at present it was postponed for an indefinite period and is not expected even in September- October," the government said.
During these missions, meets are held with the governmental officials, including the Central Bank. The main goal is to assess the short and medium term targets of the government on the development prospects of the country's economy. The mission may also hold discussions on the impact of the global financial crisis on the economy of Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani government cooperates with the Monetary Fund on the level of consultations under Article IV for four years, so, the prospects for cooperation on the basis of the program is almost not discussed during the visits.
Despite the global crisis there are not terms to resume the borrowings from the IMF by Azerbaijan. In this regard, the IMF decided to withdraw the head of the Azerbaijani representation of the Fund and reduce the staff of the office in the country. Baku office will be managed by the IMF regional representative for Central Asia and Caucasus.
This decision of the IMF was announced during the recent Baku visit of the head of the department for Central Asia and Middle East, David Owen, who met with the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Head of the Central Bank.
The decision to reduce the costs for the Azerbaijani representation of the IMF is explained through the fact that Azerbaijan does not need credit resources of the Fund, since there is huge black ink in the country's payment balance. Therefore, the Monetary Fund intends to redirect the savings to those countries which now receive IMF loans in large amounts."
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