Sebastian Molineus, WB regional director for the South Caucasus: “The fact that after the war Azerbaijan came up with an initiative for regional cooperation will contribute to the growth of the potential for the development of its economy”
Chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Elman Rustamov met with World Bank (WB) Regional Director for South Caucasus Sebastian Molineus, Trend reports on March 31 with reference to the CBA.
WB Country Manager for Azerbaijan Sarah Michael also took part in the meeting.
Rustamov stressed the importance of long-term cooperation with the WB in the field of socio-economic development of Azerbaijan.
While speaking about the current economic situation in Azerbaijan, including the work conducted in the financial sector, Rustamov stressed that despite the complex processes in the world markets, the volatility of oil prices, the difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Azerbaijani economy, as well as the Second Karabakh war, 2020 as a whole was a successful year for Azerbaijan.
“Macroeconomic stability was maintained while the economic downturn was minimal”, the CBA chairman said.
Rustamov also said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev launched new reforms in Azerbaijan and determined the national priorities for the next 10 years.
The CBA chairman stressed that in terms of their content, these reforms are aimed at realizing the specific strategic goals, forming the steadily growing competitive economy in the country, building the society based on inclusiveness and social justice.
“The cooperation with international organizations, in particular, with the WB, has always played an important role in the implementation of reforms in Azerbaijan, and we are confident that the WB, as a strategic partner, will support our country in these reforms”, Rustamov said.
The WB regional director for the South Caucasus, in turn, stressed the high level of cooperation between the bank and Azerbaijan.
“2020 really ended successfully in terms of the reforms carried out and the fight against the emerging threats to the Azerbaijani economy”, Molineus said.
“The fact that after the war Azerbaijan came up with an initiative for regional cooperation will contribute to the growth of the potential for the development of its economy”, the WB regional director for the South Caucasus said.
While informing about the status of the projects which are supported by the WB in Azerbaijan, Molineus stressed that the WB will fully support the reforms being carried out in the country's economy.
“The preparation of a new strategy for the economic development of Azerbaijan is a very important step”, the WB regional director for the South Caucasus added.
“The WB is ready to render all the necessary support to Azerbaijan in development of this strategy and implementation of reforms”, Molineus said.
In conclusion, the views on the current directions of interaction between the CBA and the WB, the projects currently being implemented in the Azerbaijani financial sector through the support of the WB, prospects for the development of cooperation were exchanged.