Details added (first version posted at 14:15)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 22
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
The World Bank continues work with Azerbaijan’s government to stabilize the macroeconomic situation in the country, Hans Timmer, WB chief economist for Europe and Central Asia, told reporters in Baku Nov. 22 during a video conference from Bucharest, Romania.
He said the WB also cooperates with Azerbaijan towards stabilization of the situation in the country’s financial market, preparation of a medium-term fiscal framework and in other spheres.
Timmer recommends Azerbaijan’s government to be more attentive to the sensitive strata of the population when carrying out reforms to ensure macroeconomic stability in the country.
At the same time, the WB offers Azerbaijan five major recommendations, the first of which is to change monetary policy, switch to a flexible currency exchange rate, which has already been done, and to find a balance in this policy, Timmer said.
The second recommendation is to stabilize the financial sector, including the banking sector, and this is considered important not only for Azerbaijan, but also for other oil exporting countries, he noted.
The third recommendation is a stable medium-term budgeting with achieving a balance between oil and non-oil revenues, Timmer said.
The fourth recommendation provides for transparent and fair distribution of income, so that the main burden as a result of reducing the national income doesn’t affect the most sensitive strata of Azerbaijan’s population, he added.
The fifth recommendation involves the creation of new jobs, reforms to improve competitiveness by increasing business access to finance, he noted.
Azerbaijan joined the WB Group in 1992.