Azerbaijan, Baku, June 23 / Trend E. Aliyev /
The negative spillovers underscore the importance of further intraregional cooperation, Azerbaijani Finance Minister Samir Sharifov said at the fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank today.
"The Black Sea region was among the worst hit from the Eurozone's recession," he said. "The spillovers of the Eurozone recession have been felt by each member country. This resulted in the regional growth rate in 2012 (2.1 percent) compared to the previous two years (4.2 percent in 2010 and 4.1 percent in 2011)."
Sharifov added that this is a clear signal to the regional financial and development institutions.
"We commend the efforts of the bank for the past fifteen years to promote cooperation by encouraging increased intra-regional trade and investments," Sharifov said. "Fifteen new operations amounting to 168 million euros were signed. The bank managed to register positive net income for the eighth consecutive year. The bank derived 14.9 million euros of net profit in 2012. Contributions of the BSTDB to the region are well recognized.
However, the bank has not realized its potential completely, minister said.
"The size of the loan portfolio under $1 billion for an institution with 11 founding member-states and the level of political presence and support it enjoys is not indicative of its real potential," Sharifov added. "Identification of new projects and designing new financing mechanisms at the time of limited credit options in the region represents a window of opportunity for the successful development of the BSTDB. High credit ratings achieved by the bank justify this."