Azerbaijan, Baku, March 29 / Trend I.Khalilova /
Director of Central and West Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Klaus Gerhaeusser is going to visit Azerbaijan to take part in the World Economic Forum (WEF) on "strategic dialogue on the future of the South Caucasus and Central Asia" taking place in Baku on April 7-8, Baku office of ADB informed Trend.
"The two-day visit of the Department Director is related to the participation in the forum, and separate bilateral meetings are not planned," - the office said.
Development of industry, natural resources, transport, infrastructure, agriculture, finance, telecommunications and other sectors will be discussed at the forum.
Parallel sessions on "Energy and Natural Resources: Opportunities and Challenges; Progress," "Business and Human Capital", "Finance and long-term investment", "Trade and Supply Aims" will take place after the opening session. There will also be a session on "The view of Azerbaijan: meet the new economy," during which the participants will discuss the optimization of Azerbaijan's natural resources and their investing in innovative technologies.
It is noted on the website of the World Economic Forum (WEF) that the forum will become an important platform for regional and global players for evaluating the main challenges and opportunities associated with the future of the region, will contribute to the development of cooperation and integration in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.
The decision to hold the forum in Baku was made at a meeting of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev with WEF Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab in January in Davos.
Azerbaijan is a member of ADB since 1999. ADB now has seven active projects in Azerbaijan with the current portfolio of $990 million. A five-year strategy of the bank (2013 - 2018) on the country is currently being prepared. ADB is interested in continuing financing infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan.
The ADB was established in 1966 and has 67 members. The headquarters of the bank is located in the capital of the Philippines, Manila. Azerbaijan became a member of the Asian Development Bank on December 22, 1999. The country's participation share in the bank's capital is 0.5 per cent.
The ADB's leading shareholders are Japan and the US (31.2 per cent of the total share capital), India and China (12.8 percent), and Australia, South Korea and Canada (16 percent).