Azerbaijan, Baku, July 17 /Trend, I.Khalilova/
Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) has approved the first stage of providing funding for the program of modernization of the financial sector in Azerbaijan, the head of the national program of the Swiss Cooperation Office for the South Caucasus Naila Safarova said. Upon Seco procedures, the projects are approved in three stages.
"The program includes three projects for further development of the national postal operator Azerpocht, capacity and capital market players and the protection of consumers of financial services," said Safarova.
The budget of projects is more specified. They will be implemented jointly with the World Bank. According to Safarova, the last two projects will run for up to five years, since reforms in these areas are slow.
The implementation of the capital market development project is scheduled to begin by the end of 2010. Currently, the program First Initiative, funded by various international donor agencies and the World Bank, specifies the design of the project. In general, the State Securities Committee of Azerbaijan has reached an agreement with First Initiative on the financing and technical support in the preparation of strategies of capital market development in Azerbaijan.
Seco expects that the budget for Azerbaijan in 2010 will total $4-5 million, taking into account the implementation of new projects. In 2009, $5.36 million has been allocated for the country over three projects, although the annual limit of the Government of Switzerland for Azerbaijan amounts to $6-7 million.
Operating in Azerbaijan the Swiss Cooperation Office for the South Caucasus represents two organizations - Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), which, in turn, is part of the Swiss Foreign Ministry and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which is part of the Ministry of Economy of Switzerland. The office was opened in Azerbaijan in 2002 to assist Azerbaijan in implementing economic reforms. This assistance focuses on the implementation of infrastructure projects, projects to support the development of the financial sector, promote private sector development, support the Government of Azerbaijan to conduct macroeconomic policy.