Đăng ký: VietNam News
| (CPV) – ADB President Takehiko Nakao today met with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Minister of Finance and ADB Governor Samir Sharifov to discuss ways of further deepening the partnership with the fast-growing country as it prepares to host next year’s ADB Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors. “The ADB Annual Meeting fosters development partnerships among our 48 regional and 19 non-regional members. Next year’s Meeting in Baku will showcase Azerbaijan’s appeal to investors and other governments,” Mr. Nakao said. “I appreciate the government’s support in hosting the Meeting. After seeing firsthand the extensive preparations, I am confident it will be a highly successful event.” The 48th ADB Annual Meeting will take place in Baku on 2-5 May 2015. The meeting is expected to be attended by around 3,000 participants, including ministers and other government officials, bilateral and multilateral agencies, private sector representatives, academics, civil society organizations, youth, and the media. During his meetings with the country’s leaders, Mr. Nakao commended Azerbaijan’s strong growth, macroeconomic stability, and progress in its health, education and water sectors. He also discussed how ADB can further support sustainable and inclusive economic development. Azerbaijan has rapidly transformed into an upper middle-income country, with its gross national income per capita rising more than 10-fold-from USD660 in 2001 to USD7,350 in 2013. This is due to abundant hydrocarbon resources, high levels of public expenditure in economic and social infrastructure, and far-reaching market reforms aimed at deeper integration with the global economy. “ADB’s 2014-2018 Country Partnership Strategy for Azerbaijan will help the country to diversify the economy and develop the private sector,” Mr. Nakao said. “ADB will focus its assistance on transport, energy, and urban services, as well as financing small and medium enterprises and public-private partnerships. Developing these sectors will expand and create new economic opportunities and reduce urban-rural disparities.” The new strategy also places emphasis on regional cooperation, governance, environmental sustainability, climate change, and better project implementation. Azerbaijan has been an ADB member since 1999. As of September 2014, ADB has provided USD1.8 billion of loans and grants to the Government of Azerbaijan, and USD143 million to private sector entities. ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members-48 from the region. In 2013, ADB assistance totaled USD21.0 billion, including co-financing of USD6.6 billion./. |