Baku, Azerbaijan, March 7
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) indefinitely postponed the visit of its mission to Azerbaijan with regard to the annual Article IV consultations, the IMF Baku office told Trend March 7.
The visit was scheduled for late February - early March 2016.
The IMF's Article IV consultations stipulate country surveillance, which is an ongoing process culminating in regular (usually annual) comprehensive consultations with individual member countries, with discussions in between as needed.
During an Article IV consultation, an IMF team of economists visits a country to assess economic and financial developments and discuss the country's economic and financial policies with government and central bank officials.
"No IMF visit is expected to Azerbaijan in the near future, particularly in March-April, with regard to the Article IV consultations," said the IMF office.
The last visit of the IMF mission to Azerbaijan took place in late January - early February 2016. At that time, the mission, led by Mohammed El Qorchi, and the country's government discussed the spheres in which the IMF could offer its technical assistance.
The IMF office was opened in Baku in 1992.
The IMF allocated loans worth $577.3 million to Azerbaijan from 1995 to 2005 to support the economic reform program. Azerbaijan has fully repaid the loans to the fund.