IFC ready to support creation of agricultural insurance system in Azerbaijan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC, a member of the World Bank Group) is interested in supporting the development of Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector, Leah Soroka, manager of the IFC project “Development of funding of the agricultural sector in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”, said.
Soroka said one of the ways would be increasing the access to loans, as well as increasing the number of financial institutions that can take risks in the sector.
The IFC can provide technical support to Azerbaijan in the creation of a strong system of agricultural insurance, she added.
The corporation’s main help can consist in coordinating the work of government, insurance companies, farmers and banks, for agricultural insurance to work and bring positive results, noted Soroka, adding that each country has a variety of opportunities and challenges, and the IFC has experience in this sphere.
The IFC initiative has been welcomed by the government and insurance sector of Azerbaijan, she added.
“It should be noted that the country’s government and insurance companies are interested in our support,” said Soroka. “Experts of the IFC visited Azerbaijan in November-December 2015, and conducted trainings for employees of insurance companies and the Azerbaijan Insurers Association.”
“During the trainings, we demonstrated how the agricultural insurance works,” she said. “We also held many different meetings at the state structures, where we discussed the prospects of development of the agricultural insurance in Azerbaijan.”
Earlier, Trend was told that proposals on the agricultural insurance had already been given to Azerbaijan’s Financial Market Supervisory Body.
Azerbaijan cooperates with the IFC since 1995. The corporation’s portfolio for Azerbaijan exceeds $400 million and these funds were allocated for implementation of more than 70 projects.
Indonesia can sell planes, trains and tankers to Azerbaijan – ambassador
Indonesia wants to expand political and economic relations with Azerbaijan, says Husnan Bey Fananie, Indonesia’s newly-appointed ambassador to Baku.
“We would like to expand cooperation with Azerbaijan,” he said in an exclusive interview with Trend June 30. “We will be able to provide the [Azerbaijani] market with any kind of goods and services, including halal products.”
The Azerbaijan-Indonesia trade turnover stood at almost $500 million in 2015.
Ambassador Fananie says Indonesia, which ranks 13th in the aggregate trade turnover of Azerbaijan, could be engaged in construction works in the country and could provide the market with qualified specialists.
“Our countries have a huge potential for development,” said the ambassador of Indonesia, the economy of which was assessed by the World Bank (WB) as the largest one in South-East Asia.
“It will take little time to realize all the possibilities. We could sell our cargo and passenger planes, trains and tankers to Azerbaijan,” he added.
The gross national income per capita in Indonesia increased from $560 in 2000 to $3,630 in 2014, according to the WB.
“We would like Azerbaijan to invest in Indonesia in refinery building,” said the ambassador. “We produce oil, but not enough because of the high demand. We buy oil from many countries, but Azerbaijani oil is the best. Maybe, we will increase the oil purchase volume from Azerbaijan in 2016.”
According to BP, the proven oil reserves in Indonesia stand at 3.6 billion barrels. On average, Indonesia produced 825,000 barrels of oil per day in 2015.
Oil production has been annually decreasing in Indonesia from 2010, when the country was producing one million barrels of oil per day.
Fananie also said Indonesian President Joko Widodo is expected to visit Azerbaijan in 2017.