Azerbaijan to ‘effectively regulate’ monetary policy in 2014
By Aynur Jafarova
Azerbaijan will effectively regulate its mid-term monetary policy in 2014, head of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) said on March 4.
Elman Rustamov made the statement in a meeting in Baku with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headed by head of the IMF mission to Azerbaijan Raja Almarzoqi.
Rustamov said finding the optimal balance between the objectives of growth of bank assets and stability, synchronization of monetary and macro-prudential policy, formation of a framework for counter-cyclical banking supervision, and regulation of the financial sector to prevent it from overheating are particularly important.
The CBA head also informed the guests about the economic growth of Azerbaijan, macroeconomic stability, development of the non-oil sector, diversification of the economy, the monetary policy of the CBA, the development of the country's banking sector, and other issues.
The head of the IMF mission, in turn, assessed the developments as well as the financial and macroeconomic stability in Azerbaijan as positive. Emphasizing the short-term and the mid-term tasks of the country, the parties exchanged views on joint work between Azerbaijan and the IMF in this field.
The sides also discussed the prospects for development of the ongoing cooperation.
The visit of the IMF mission to Baku began on March 4 and will last until March 17. The purpose of the visit is to hold consultations with the government of Azerbaijan on Article 4 of the agreement on the establishment of the IMF.
Azerbaijan has cooperated with the IMF since September 18, 1992. IMF loans were allocated to Azerbaijan within six programs, but cooperation with the IMF has been at the level of consultation since 2005, as the Azerbaijani government has refused to receive loans from the fund.
The IMF office was opened in Baku in 1992. Despite its staff having been reduced since 2009, it has remained an important partner of the Azerbaijani government. It is noteworthy that the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the IMF played an important role in the period of global economic and financial crisis.