* Japanese Speaker visit expected * A Japanese parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker is expected to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan, Japanese ambassador to Azerbaijan Toshiyuki Fujiwara has told AssA-Irada. * According to the diplomat, the date for the visit is still to be determined, as expansion of bilateral interparliamentary relations will be discussed during the visit. President presents military honors   * President Aliyev issued a decree on Tuesday to award 163 mili...... полностью

* Bilateral co-op agreement to be signed * Turkish Ministers for Interior Affairs Abdulgafar Aksu and Justice Cemil Cicek will arrive in Azerbaijan for an official visit early in July, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ahmet Unal Cevikoz has told Azernews. According to him, issues on expanding cooperation between the relevant structures of the two countries and legal assistance will be discussed, as well as an agreement on bilateral cooperation is planned for signing during the visit. PA CE rap...... полностью

* Minsk Group co-chair's visit in question * The OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairmen were to visit the region on May 22-23. Some sources have carried reports that the visit will be put off due to the health of Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry is withholding full information on whether the trip will take place or not. In her interview with Azernews, Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Eleonora Huseynova said she has no details of the visit date. Mention...... полностью

* Azerbaijan, Iran redouble border patrols * Control of the Iranian-Azerbaijani frontier line has been intensified following the war on Iraq waged by the US-led coalition. * Commander-in-Chief of the Azerbaijani frontier troops, Col-Gen Elcin Quliyev told AssA-Irada that the appropriate measures had been taken to address the likelihood that Iraqis, who fled from the area of hostilities, could cross the Iranian frontier and from there move forward in the northern direction. * Noting that the mea...... полностью

Iraqi embassy to keep the public informed * The Iraqi embassy in Baku will conduct new conferences every two or three days to update the Azerbaijani community on ongoing developments in Iraq. The first conference is due on Wednesday, the embassy has told AssA-Irada.  Reportedly,  the tense situation or breakout of a war will have no affect on the embassy's activities and work regime. Unified CIS border guarding * A decision to set up the united system for guarding borders of the CIS m...... полностью

* Speaker to visit UK * A eight-person delegation led by Azerbaijani speaker Murtuz Alasgarov is on an official visit to UK over March 9-14. Milli Maclis (parliament) has informed AssA-Irada that the visit is made at the invitation of the British parliament. Within the framework of the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation is holding a number of meetings with both leaders of both parliamentary houses, as well as top officials in the United Kingdom, improving relations between the parliaments and th...... полностью

* C4 security chiefs may meet in March * A meeting of  the Russian, Azerbaijani, Georgian, and Armenian security council secretaries may be held in the first ten days of March, a diplomatic source has informed AssA-Irada. This meeting was initiated by the Russian Security Council Secretary, Vladimir Rushaylo, during his recent official visit to Baku. The issue of  regional security on the eve of possible war against Iraq will be the focus of the Caucasus Four meeting. The security council secre...... полностью

Cabinet move * Azerbaijan's President, Heydar Aliyev, decreed on February 13 to move Yaqub Abdulla oglu Eyyubov from the position of Deputy Prime Minister to the position of First Deputy Prime Minister. OSCE MG co-chairmen to visit conflict region * A regular trip of OSCE Minsk Group (MG) co-chairmen to the conflict region will take place in March-May. The US ambassador Ross Wilson has advised the media that the exact date of the trip is still to be defined. * Break in co-chairmen's regional ...... полностью

Aliyev not to attend Almaty conference * An international conference, Peace and Understanding, will be held on February 13 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, initiated by the Kazakh government. The Afghan, Kirgiz, Tajik, Turkish and Azerbaijani heads of state have been invited to the conference. The Azerbaijani Presidential Administration has informed AssA-Irada that Heydar Aliyev will not attend the event instead Foreign Minister Vilayat Quliyev will represent Azerbaijan there. * The conference intends to...... полностью

Loans to Azerbaijani economy up by  6.6 per cent * Total amount of loans to the Azerbaijani economy have constituted AZM2,592.9bn as of January 1, 2003, exceeding the 2002 figure by 6.6 per cent. Short-term and long-term loans have made up AZM1,861.8bn, or 71.8 per cent, and AZM731.2bn, or 28.2 per cent, respectively. The National Bank of Azerbaijan has told AssA-Irada that state-run banks have released credits worth AZM1,240.7bn, while private banks and non-profit credit organizations -AZM1,013...... полностью