Azerbaijan, Baku, March 5 / Trend A. Akhundov /
Dozens of specific reform-oriented programs based on the concept of Azerbaijan's development till 2020 will be prepared, state adviser on economic policy of the presidential administration Vahid Akhundov said at II High-Level Forum on Economic Policy in Baku today.
"The concept aims is to create qualitatively new systems of governance based on the acceleration of reforms in the country and thus to achieve radical changes in all sectors of the economy," he said. "Dozens of specific reform-oriented programs will be developed on the basis of the concept. We clearly understand that the various local reforms must rely on a healthy environment, otherwise, their significance will be weak. So, I think that first of all, the reforms limiting the monopoly, corruption and inflation must be held. This is the most important for the development of internal potential of each sector of the economy."
He said that the concept of development till 2020 will be prepared during the current year. This defines the importance of the issues to be discussed within the forum.
"Azerbaijan has always had strong, comprehensive, systematic and effective ties with the World Bank and other international organizations," he said. "I am confident that these relations will develop in the future. First of all, we need this because the application of effective management systems, consideration of large-scale investment projects, the study of international experience in this area, reforms in various sectors, evaluation of alternative ways of the country's development are important in a globalized world."
The main purpose of the World Bank High Level Economic Forum is to give a platform for a detailed discussion of the components of Azerbaijan's future economic policy, where the main role will be assigned to non-oil sector.
Following the first forum on Azerbaijan's long-term economic development, held on October 21, 2009, the agreement was reached to prepare a plan of activities involving the diversification of the country's economy to further develop and conduct a new forum to assess progress and results.
The forum created the opportunity to begin a constructive dialogue about the diversification of Azerbaijan's economy. The preparation of own model of economic growth and balancing the dependence on domestic and foreign markets based on the experience of Ireland and Slovakia was proposed to the country.
Azerbaijan must dramatically increase non-oil export amid changing the economic climate and volatility of oil prices as a result of the global financial and economic crisis.
Azerbaijan is a WB member since 1992. The bank allocated $ 2.9 billion in financing 43 projects within the cooperation. The country ranks third in terms of the portfolio volume after Turkey and Kazakhstan.