Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.8 / Trend N. Ismayilova /
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched three new projects in Azerbaijan, USAID said Oct.7.
The project of Azerbaijani Rivalry and Trade (ART) aims to develop an acceptable business environment, free trade environment. Project implementation period is three years. This project will be implemented by Sibley International in cooperation with the Forum for Economic Integration, Praqma Corporation and ASR Konsaltinq. The Azerbaijani Government participates in financing of the project jointly with USAID.
Also, USAID has concluded a partnership agreement with Azerbaijani banks AccessBank and DemirBank until 2015 to increase access of small and medium-sized enterprises to financial resources and allocation of loans for agriculture. This agreement is part of a program implemented by the USAID under Development Credit Authority (DCA). It envisages guarantees covering loans granted by banks. Thus, USAID will contribute to the financing of such sectors which demand loan resources. Attracting private capital will allow the banks to examine the sector that they previously considered risky, which will allow achieving great and lasting results.
The third project is the new media program in Azerbaijan (AYMP) with a term of three years of implementation, aims at improving the quality of news spread in the country. The program is implemented by the IREX International Research and Exchange Board (IREX).
So far, USAID has invested over $ 300 million in Azerbaijan's economic development.