Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr I. Khalilova / The second meeting of the Azerbaijani-U.S. Inter-governmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was scheduled for Washington on February 2008. The news was publicized at the meeting between the co-chairmen of the commission, Azerbaijani Finance Minister, Samir Sharifov, and US Deputy Secretary of State, Daniel Sullivan, in Baku on 16 August.
The guest became familiar with the macroeconomic situation and the ongoing fiscal policy in Azerbaijan, anti-inflation arrangements of the Government, development of the project of public budget for 2008, trade and business climate, the development of the non-oil sector, arrangements on transparency and anti-corruption and other work.
As a result of 2006, the cargo turnover between the countries increased by over 40% making up $280mln. The United States takes a leading position regarding total investments in the country. The USA considers the development of trade to be an important direction in the activities, but the commercial field also will be developed in future. The establishment of business and investing in Azerbaijan by US companies requires the solving of an important issue, the definition of the direction of Azerbaijani Government in work against corruption. In this connection important laws are being developed, Law on Ethnic Code of State Employees, Law on Contradiction of Interests. The main direction in combating corruption is the operation of independent courts.
USA-Azerbaijani relationships are maintained by three important columns one of them being security, in the struggle against global terror, the second being security in energy field and the third being economy and reforms in the field of democracy. The discussions in the first meeting of the commission focused on the third issue. The first meeting was held in Baku on 7 February 2007.