* Strategy to boost non-oil sector drawn up * A 3-year program of activities to boost the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan has been drawn up at a one day workshop at Quba Hall of the Hyatt Regency Hotel of Baku on Monday. * The workshop, a follow-up to the May 7-9 Investment Conference, was organized by the Ministry of Economic Development and the World Bank. * Intended to discuss and refine an Integrated Non-Oil Trade and Investment Strategy (INOTIS) for the rapid expansion of jobs and opportunit...... полностью

* 170bn AZM allotted from state budget for investment program * A total of 170bn manats out of Reserve Fund of the state budget have been spent for projects implemented under an investment program in the country thus far. * Finance Minister Avaz Alakbarov has told AssA-Irada among them are the projects on rehabilitation of Vayxir water reservoir, accomplishment of the construction of Naxcivan Airport and restoration of Philharmonics. * According to him, 48bn manats out of 115bn manats allocat...... полностью

First int'l investment conference * The first three-day international conference, Investing in Azerbaijan - Gateway to the Newly Independent States, was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Baku last week. * Representatives of 35 international organisations, foreign embassies, and about 300 businesses from over 30 nations, as well as Azerbaijani officials, attended the event organised by the Ministry of Economic Development through the support of the Swiss government and the International Finance Co...... полностью

* Moncrief, Petoil quit Azerbaijan... Nation's Energy enters * The US company Moncrief Oil and Turkey's Petoil have quit Azerbaijan, selling all their operations to Canadian oil major Nation's Energy, industry sources told Azernews. * Moncrief Oil as the operator of two onshore projects in Azerbaijan was in charge of development of the Kalamaddin-Misovdag and the Padar-Xarami contract areas. * With Moncrief's withdrawal Nation's Energy has become the operator for both projects. * Michael Palme...... полностью

10th Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition to be marked with fireworks * The tenth international Caspian oil and gas exhibition and conference incorporating refining and petrochemicals, Caspian Oil & Gas 2003, will take place in Baku on June 3 to 6. * President Aliyev is to inaugurate the grand opening of the show, expected to be attended by the energy ministers of Georgia, Italy, Norway, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and other nations. Afterwards he will take a stroll through the exhibition...... полностью

* Azerbaijan, IMF agree economic reform program for 2003 * The International Monetary Fund and the Azerbaijani government have coordinated a program for the main avenues economic reform in 2003, head of the IMF mission and deputy chief of the IMF European II Department John Wakeman-Linn announced at a press conference in Baku. * According to this program, he said, with an eye toward boosting parliamentary control over the activities of the State Petroleum Fund there will be introduced changes a...... полностью

* First Int’l Transport conference * The First International Exhibition of Caspian and Black Sea countries, and a conference, I & S Caspian and Black Sea Transport 2003, will be held on February 26-28 in Istanbul. The aim of the project is to support investment on transport section of the Caspian and Black Sea countries and to develop mutually useful cooperation. The project is being organized by such professional exhibition and conference organizing companies as ITC Group Plc. (Great Britain),...... полностью

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey to lay gas pipeline shortly * The Azerbaijani, Georgian and Turkish presidents are expected to give the go-ahead to construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline within the next few days, reliable sources have advised AssA-Irada. * "This will mark the beginning of the first stage, which will be followed by routine work," Georgian President Eduard Shevarnadze was quoted by Interfax's Tbilisi bureau as saying. * Commenting on his talks with representatives of ...... полностью

* EBRD passes new strategy for Azerbaijan * In its press release, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced a new two-year strategy for Azerbaijan. The new strategy recognizes improvements in the investment climate, though calls for further measures to achieve stronger growth in the non-oil-gas sector. * The EBRD advised Azernews that it has also set out how the bank can contribute to Azerbaijan's plans for reducing poverty. * Macroeconomic performance in Azerbaijan ...... полностью

First pipe for BTC construction arrives in Baku * BP said that the first joints of pipe for the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Main Export Pipeline were delivered to Baku from the Georgian Black Sea port of Poti on January 22. The first shipment of 240 joints of pipe was brought by railway from Poti by the German company KUHNE & NAGLE, which is a freight-forwarding subcontractor for the Azerbaijan section of the pipeline. * This first shipment of the pipe was brought to Poti on the 14th...... полностью