May 23
President Aliyev participating in first World Humanitarian Summit
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is taking part in the First World Humanitarian Summit, which opened in Istanbul, Turkey.
The summit is being held by an initiative of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with the organizational support of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The summit involves representatives of 177 countries, including 125 heads of state and governments.
Azerbaijan Railways, German DHL to create logistics hub
Azerbaijan Railways CJSC and Germany's DHL have agreed to create a large logistics hub in Azerbaijan, Nadir Azmammadov, spokesperson for Azerbaijan Railways, said.
He noted that the agreement was reached during a meeting of the delegations from the two sides in Turkey's Istanbul city.
"Cargoes from China will be delivered to this hub and subsequently, will be transported to Turkey, Europe, Russia and other countries," he added.
Following the meeting, the parties signed a protocol of intentions.
May 24
Malena Mard: Azerbaijan has great potential to become logistics center
The European Union has implemented 213 projects in Azerbaijan in various spheres until 2016 through the TAIEX program, head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Malena Mard, said in Baku.
She made the remarks addressing a workshop on operations and management in sea ports.
Mard noted that the operations within the TAIEX program started 10 years ago in EU's neighbouring countries and more than 3,000 projects in the spheres of transportation, food security and energy have been implemented over those 10 years.
With its geographical location, Azerbaijan has a great potential to turn into a transportation and logistics center connecting the North with South and the East with West, she added.
President Aliyev: Azerbaijan on verge of realizing energy project of not only regional, but also global importance
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation of members of the BP Board, led by chairman of the Board Carl-Henric Svanberg, and including BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley.
The president said very important projects had been implemented in Azerbaijan under the BP-Azerbaijan cooperation, which spans more than 20 years.
The president stressed that the country was on the verge of realizing an energy project, which was not only of regional, but also of global importance.
Highlighting the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor project in terms of energy security and diversification, President Aliyev said the project would contribute to the expansion of cooperation among many countries.
Azerbaijan calls for EBRD's support in free trade zone establishment
Azerbaijan has urged the European Reconstruction and Development Bank (EBRD) to render technical support for establishing a free trade zone in the Alat settlement at the initial stage, said Shahin Mustafayev, Azerbaijani economy minister.
Mustafayev made the statement at a meeting with Suma Chakrabarti, the EBRD head, in Baku.
The minister stressed the possibilities of cooperation in the field of transit, as well as within the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), which is an important part of the Southern Gas Corridor.
Azerbaijan, Russia discuss co-op in communications, high-tech
Minister of Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan Ramin Quluzade met with Minister of Communications and Mass Media of Russia Nikolai Nikiforov in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The meeting took place within the framework of the regular session of the Regional Communications Commonwealth (RCC).
During the meeting, the sides discussed a draft agreement on cooperation in the field of communication and information technologies, exchanged views in spheres of postal communications and information technologies, information security.
May 25
SOCAR, Uniper to build steam turbine
The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and German Uniper energy company will create a joint venture for a steam turbine generator unit production.
Head of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev and President of Uniper Klaus Schäfer signed the corresponding agreement in Baku to establish SOCAR-Uniper joint venture.
In addition, the sides have signed a preliminary project agreement on the construction of a steam turbine generator unit at the Ethylene-Polyethylene plant.
During a briefing after the signing ceremony, SOCAR president said that the cost of the project on creation of the SOCAR-Uniper joint venture is estimated at 26 million euros.
'The World`s Person of the Year 2015' award presented to Azerbaijan's president
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Editor-in-Chief of The Business Year magazine Leland Rice and its Regional Director Betul Cakaloglu.
Rice said that President Aliyev was honored for his role in Azerbaijan's making significant contribution to ensuring energy security of Europe and diversifying energy sources, for establishing and realizing the Southern Gas Corridor project and its integral elements - Shah Deniz-2, TANAP and TAP projects, excellently organizing important international events, including the first ever European Games and showing the world big potential of Azerbaijan, the country's efforts made towards the creation of East-West and North-South transport corridors, Azerbaijan's becoming an international transportation and transit hub, providing practical support for the development of inter-civilizational and inter-cultural dialogue, hosting international humanitarian events for encouragement of multicultural values and other successful activities in ensuring peace and security in the region.
President Aliyev thanked The Business Year magazine for the award.
IMF ready to support economic reforms in Azerbaijan
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to support the economic reforms in Azerbaijan.
During a meeting of Azerbaijan's Finance Minister Samir Sharifov with the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the 9th Astana Economic Forum, the parties expressed mutual interest in IMF's supporting the economic reforms underway in Azerbaijan, both with participation of relevant experts and at the level of technical assistance, Azerbaijan's Finance Ministry said.
May 26
Moody's positively assesses state support to Azerbaijani banks
The ability of the Azerbaijani government to support the banking sector in the case of need is sufficient, said Moody's analyst Maria Malyukova.
She made the remarks during the forum on risk management in Baku.
Malyukova said that this support is connected with the high level of Azerbaijan's total currency reserves - 81 percent of the GDP (at the end of 2015), and relatively small size of the banking system - 44 percent of the GDP.
"According to our forecasts, Azerbaijan's GDP in 2016 is expected at the level of SOFAZ's (State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan) reserves at the end of 2015, which amounted to $33.6 billion," noted Malyukova.
The expert added that these reserves are an original safety bag for various economic shocks.
Rasht-Astara railway project moving forward
A special working group has been created in Azerbaijan for implementation of the Rasht-Astara railway project, said the message from Azerbaijan's Economy Ministry.
The construction of Rasht-Astara railway was discussed during a meeting between Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi, said the message.
They also reviewed the process of construction of the Qazvin-Rasht railway line and preparations for the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway.
During the meeting, it was noted that the first stage of the work on the North-South transportation corridor is planned to the completed by late 2016.
May 27
Positive dynamics in Azerbaijani-EU trade turnover continues in 2016
The European Union is the main trade partner of Azerbaijan, said Azerbaijan's Deputy Economy Minister Sahil Babayev in Baku the conference dedicated to support for the institution-building program in Azerbaijan.
"The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the EU countries stood at $9.7 billion in 2015, or almost half of Azerbaijan's total trade turnover," said Babayev. "This positive tendency continued in 2016 as well." The deputy minister pointed out that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the EU over the past period of 2016 has reached $2 billion, or 41 percent of the export and import operations. Babayev noted that the volume of investments made by the EU countries in Azerbaijan's fixed capital over the last 10 years, accounted for 45.6 percent of the total volume of investments in the country's fixed capital.
The direct investments made by the EU countries in Azerbaijan's non-oil sector neared 35 percent of the total volume of direct investments in this sector, according to the deputy minister. Meanwhile, the major part of Azerbaijani investments was made in the EU countries, he added.
President Aliyev attends official reception on occasion of Azerbaijan's Republic Day
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended an official reception on the occasion of the national holiday of Azerbaijan, Republic Day, at Buta Palace.
The head of state made a speech at the reception.
WB eyeing opportunity to finance TANAP's Azerbaijani part
The World Bank (WB) is considering the possibility of financing the construction of the Azerbaijani section of the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), the WB Baku office said.
To this end, a delegation led by Ranjit Lamech, WB manager for energy and extractive global practice in Europe and Central Asia, and Salvador Rivera, WB senior specialist for energy, was in Baku.
The WB Baku office said the delegation held negotiations with representatives of the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry and Southern Gas Corridor CJSC.
The WB is in negotiations simultaneously with Turkey's Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation and Southern Gas Corridor CJSC for financing TANAP.