Azernews.Az

By Gulgiz Dadashova

Despite the global financial crisis, Azerbaijan continues to show high economic indicators and achieve targets.

Azerbaijan demonstrates all the signs of sustained economic growth and has great potential, WB Vice-President For External Affairs Cyril Muller said while speaking at the 11th annual conference of the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) opened in Baku on May 23.

The conference, which discusses such issues as international development and the development of specific countries, involve over 180 MPs from 70 countries.

Muller said that he is well aware of the past that Azerbaijan passed since achieving independence.

"I have known Baku for many years. I was one of the first representatives of the World Bank who arrived in the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan has passed along an incredible route of development since gaining independence," he said.

Muller went on to say that events such as today's conference allow parliamentarians worldwide to discuss current problems and try to find a way to solve them.

These discussions promote economic growth and comprehensive development, he said.

Addressing the event, Parliamentary Network Chair Alain Destexhe apprised the economic indicators of Azerbaijan.

He said that fair distribution of natural resources and their effective use not gives grounds to worry about the country's future. The poverty rate of Azerbaijan is one of the most successful in the world.

Destexhe said given the evidence of a reduction in poverty, one can see great opportunities for the country's inclusion in the list of sustainable and high-middle-income countries.

In turn, Chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Elman Rustamov said that the Parliamentary Network of the WB and IMF has become an important platform that improves the effectiveness of international organizations in terms of the formation of new strategic approaches to global problems.

The Azerbaijani government attaches great importance to cooperation with international financial institutions, in particular the IMF and WB, Rustamov added.

These institutions have always backed Azerbaijan in the process of transition to a market economy, stabilization of the economic and provision of development.

"We can surely say that there have been achieved significant results in this area," Rustamov said.

Rustamov went on to say that over the past period there was ensured a rapid transition to a market economy, sustainable development and stability, and poverty was reduced as well.

An effective anti-crisis strategy helped protect Azerbaijan from the 2007-2010 crisis and the country's economy showed a growth of 20 percent, Rustamov said adding that Azerbaijan can be seen a new interesting experience in management of natural resources.

"Over the past 10 years, Azerbaijan has made a major transformation, the economy has stabilized and tripled, the volume of per capita income reached $10,000. The economic stability has been ensured and kept in the country for already 15 years. The weighted budget, low external debt, low inflation and high amounts of foreign exchange reserves are the basis of this stability, " he said.

He said the special weight of external debt to GDP ratio is only eight percent and the country's strategic currency reserves 70 percent of GDP.

Rustamov said the problem of poverty, which is still characteristic for many countries, has been solved just in one decade.

The poverty rate in Azerbaijan, which now stands at 6 percent, is almost four times less than the global average of 21 percent, he added.

Currently, Azerbaijan is on the way of forming a strong diversified economy, Rustamov said.

The conference also touched upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Head of the Association for Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan Elman Suleymanov urged the participants to raise this issue at the international level.

"For 20 years there have been no positive results in the process of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution. But the Azerbaijani people will never accept the occupation of their land," he said.

Suleymanov said that contrary to the principles of justice, no international organization has imposed economic sanctions on Armenia because of its occupation policy, and it even more unleashes the leadership of this country.