Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded the Article IV consultation with Azerbaijan and considered and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting.

The Fund reports that Azerbaijani government's recent achievements give impetus to the country's goal of becoming a dynamic and developing market.

"The recent agreements in the gas sector will help to turn Azerbaijan into a strategic supplier of gas to the European market. Moreover, the successful debut placement of sovereign Eurobonds, carried out amid market turbulence in the region, is an evidence of investors' confidence. This vote of confidence, along with a favorable medium and high oil prices, gives the opportunity to keep the recent progress in the changing macroeconomic policy course and to take decisive steps on improvement of management and business climate. The activities in these areas will have crucial significance in strengthening the sustainable and diversified growth," the IMF said on June 2.

The IMF also welcomed the approved 2014 budget that contains government spending, and encourages the authorities to complement their plans to improve public investment efficiency with decisive business climate reforms to create opportunities for private investment.

IMF's Articles of Agreement were adopted at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. Under Article IV of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country's economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.

The IMF Article IV Mission visited Baku in March.

Azerbaijan joined IMF on September 18, 1992. During the years of cooperation with the fund, Azerbaijan attracted IMF's loans worth $577.3 million for realizing six various programs as part of economic reforms.

The cooperation between IMF and Azerbaijan was particularly intensive between 1995 and 2005. Throughout these years, Azerbaijan often enjoyed IMF's consulting and financial assistance to support the government's economic programs.

IMF office was opened in Baku in 1992, and despite the fact that its staff has been reduced since 2009 the fund is still an important partner of Azerbaijani government.

The cooperation between Azerbaijan and IMF also played an important role during the global economic and financial crisis.