Azerbaijan was rated 215th among 225 countries on the level of inflation in 2007 by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), despite official figures citing a low consumer price index. The South Caucasus republic ranks beside Central Asian state Uzbekistan and Ethiopia in Africa, according to the Economic Research Center (ERC) that is engaged in studying inflation trends in the country. CIA cited high inflation rate in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Venezuela as well. The highest inflation w...... полностью

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received on Monday Saeed Abdul Jalil Mohammed Al Fahim, Chairman of the International Investment Bank (IIB), a globally focused investment bank based in Bahrain. The parties exchanged views on IIB’s cooperation with Azerbaijani banks and its participation in the investment projects being implemented in the country and the ones still in the offing.*... читать

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has issued a decree to increase the basic amount of the labor pension to 60 manats ($71) starting on January 1, 2008. Under the decree, the State Social Protection Fund is committed to recalculate the amounts of any kind of monthly pensions.*... читать

South Korean companies plan to invest $2 billion in Azerbaijan in the coming years, Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev said. Addressing the second meeting of the inter-governmental economic cooperation commission that started in Baku on Monday, he said Korean companies were greatly interested in expanding relations with the country, with a focus on investments in the non-oil sector, which is welcomed by Baku. Babayev said the Korean side had already forwarded two projects to the...... полностью

An Azerbaijani delegation led by Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov will visit Slovenia in late August. The visit aims to attend a two-day Bled Strategic Forum to start in this country on August 26, the Ministry department head Rufat Gulmammadov said. He said that about 250 delegates from different countries, including the President of Georgia, prime ministers of Lithuania, Macedonia and Tataristan, would participate in the opening ceremony of the event. ...... полностью

The illegal migration of foreign citizens to Azerbaijan has doubled this year, Interior Minister Ramil Usubov said. 320 foreigners migrating to Azerbaijan unlawfully were held accountable in the first half of 2007, he told journalists on Wednesday. The minister said that 214 illegal migrants were deported from the country and criminal cases were opened against two migrants, while others were issued a warning. Usubov said that 138 crimes related to trafficking in human were discovered in J...... полностью

President Ilham Aliyev attended a graduation ceremony at the Police Academy on Monday on the occasion of July 2 - Police Day. Prior to the event, the Azerbaijani President opened a monument to national leader Heydar Aliyev and his museum. Addressing the graduation ceremony, President Aliyev said that the Azerbaijani police play a significant role in the maintenance of stability in the country. Azerbaijan is considered the most stable country for its criminal situation not only in the regio...... полностью

Germany intends to implement the use of solar energy in Azerbaijan, the Mayor of Mainz Jens Beutel said on Thursday. “In a while oil and gas will begin to run out in Azerbaijan. Your country should start getting ready for this straight sway. Considering this, we discussed during our meetings in Baku the use of solar energy,” he told a press conference on the results of his visit to the country. Beutel and his delegation had meetings at the Ministry of Industry and Energy and the Chamber o...... полностью

Inflation made up only 0.4% in Azerbaijan in April, official sources said. The prices on food rose 0.5% last month, while those on other foods – 0.4% and fees on services provided to the population – 0.1%, according to the State Statistics Committee. The increase mainly affected the prices on rice, meat, canned food, sparkling water, alcoholic drinks, as well as some types of fruits and vegetables, including potatoes, onions and citrus fruits. The prices on bananas, cucumbers and tomato...... полностью

A conference on contemporary clinical aspects of bipolar (depressive) disorders was held in Baku on Saturday. In his opening remarks, the association president, PhD in medicine, Nadir Ismayilov, said the conference aimed to bring psychiatrists together to study the causes of depressive disorders, which are frequently encountered worldwide, and to enlighten the public about such cases that have become part of everyday life. Prof. Ismayilov, who is a full-fledged member of the International ...... полностью

The trial of the former economic development minister Farhad Aliyev and his brother, former president of major AzPetrol oil company Rafig Aliyev, is due to begin May 15, according to the Grave Crimes Court. 19 people charged mainly with corruption will stand trial. Farhad Aliyev is charged with graft, embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of power, while his brother – with tax evasion and smuggling. Under another charge, the two are accused of complicity in a coup attempt ...... полностью

The Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the United Nations launched a second phase of a project aimed at boosting domestic tourism development on Monday. The ministry and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are further strengthening their partnership to reduce poverty by supporting the development of tourism, which contributes to social and economic development, the UNDP said. This two-year project aims to provide institutional support to a newly established Azerbaija...... полностью

The prices on real estate in Azerbaijan have been on the rise and grew 25% in the past year, officials said. “The increase is caused by the rising prices on construction materials and energy resources,” chairman of the State Real Estate Register Service, Arif Garashov, told journalists Thursday. Garashov noted that in some districts of the country, a growth dynamics in prices on land plots is observed. Analysts say the real estate market is expanding due to a number of factors affecting the c...... полностью

Ombudsman Elmira Suleymanova visited the National Security Ministry pre-trial detention facilities on Tuesday to call on the ex-ministers of economic development and health Farhad Aliyev and Ali Insanov as well as Aliyev’s brother, former president of major AzPetrol oil company Rafig Aliyev. The three were arrested in the run-up to the November 2005 parliamentary elections on charges of financing a coup attempt, staging mass riots, abuse of power and embezzlement. During the meeting with the ...... полностью

Some roads in the capital Baku may become payable if relevant proposals are approved, officials said. “The measure will affect the quality of roads,” the head of a Transport Ministry department, Javid Gurbanov, told a local TV channel. The measure will apply mainly to highways, including new roads, as well as those in Icheri Sheher (Old City), a historic, ancient-style site downtown. Gurbanov added that the construction of up-to-date roads will definitely benefit the state.*... читать

487 employees of interior bodies have been punished over maltreatment and violations of human rights and civil liberties in 2005-2006. 32 of these persons were held criminally accountable and 31 others demoted, Deputy Interior Minister Oruj Zalov said. The ranks of six law enforcers responsible for irregularities were downgraded, while 81 were barred from working in interior bodies and 337 faced other forms of punitive action, Zalov said. The deputy minister added that 55 crimes related to vi...... полностью

The number of tourists visiting Azerbaijan is expected to grow this year compared to 2004, according to the ministry of youth, sports and tourism. “1.3 million foreign citizens visited the country last year, including 750,000 tourists. We anticipate that their number will increase 20-25% this year”, an expert from the ministry said. The ministry representatives assess the mentioned increase as a ‘good indicator’, the same source said. Every tourist spends about $800 on average per week of...... полностью

The Ministry of Economic Development state property management and privatization department has announced a tender for the sale of 99.31% of the Mingachevir-Weaver Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) shares. Both local and foreign investors may submit their bids, the Ministry said. Under the tender terms, preference will be given to bidders offering highest investments and those committed to efficient investing and experienced in producing cotton threads and raw fabrics and applying modern technol...... полностью

There are currently over 2,000 people suffering from average or severe forms of thalassemia (related to low levels of hemoglobin in blood) in Azerbaijan. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that if prevention of the disease is not conducted properly, the number of people affected by the disease and the funds spent on such activities will sharply increase, according to parliament member Vasatat Azizov. Azizov said that along with the severe forms of thalassemia, there are numerous peopl...... полностью

Azercell cellular communications operator signed an international roaming agreement with Morocco’s Medi Telecom company on Wednesday. This brings the number of roaming agreements the company signed with mobile communications providers in 91 countries to 204, a source from Azercell told AssA-Irada.... читать

Privatization is the only way to prevent monopolies in the country, president of the Entrepreneurs Confederation of Azerbaijan (ECA) Alakbar Mammadov told a conference, “Business climate in Azerbaijan: achievements and problems” at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Tuesday. The privatization process in Azerbaijan is stalling, and monopolies currently control every sector of the country’s economy, which is a result of activities by supervising executive bodies aimed at limiting competition, he said. ...... полностью

Mobile communications operator Azercell Telecom JV has introduced new services for its subscribers, ATMOdemeCell and WebOdemeCell. This will allow holders of credit and debit cards to load units via automatic teller machines (ATMs) and the Internet without having to buy SimSim cards. SimSim subscribers holding debit or credit cards will now be able to load talk units to their numbers via ATMs, which have an agreement with the Azericard processing center, while those holding the International B...... полностью

The first international festival of children’s drawings will be organized by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Tourism at the Heydar Aliyev Palace concert center late this month, according to the Ministry. The event will be participated in by some 6,000 children aged between 5 and 15 from Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Iran, Turkey, China, France, Poland, Bulgaria, Egypt, and UAE, the same source said.... читать

Azerbaijan has established trade relations with over 120 world countries to date. Whereas the volume of foreign trade turnover made up $5.2 billion in 2003, the figure is expected to increase 18% to make up $6.2 billion this year. Exports are due to rise 20% and imports 17%. The country’s currency reserves have increased to exceed $1.6 billion, of which $800 million is held by the State Oil Fund. By the year-end the level of construction operations is expected to rise 43%, that of transport ...... полностью

On November 25 Baku will host a conference on global information communication technologies. Formation of a single world information society and related issues will be discussed. The event will be held on the initiative of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies and the UN World Award Summit group, and sponsored by cellular communications provider Azercell, the Ministry told AssA-Irada. The conference will be attended by President Ilham Aliyev, general secretary of the Inter...... полностью

Finance ministries of Azerbaijan and Russia are expected to sign a cooperation agreement shortly, which is intended to fetch $25 million for the state budget of Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Finance told AssA-Irada Friday that a good deal has been done to liquidate double taxation and deduction of indirect tax. The inter-governmental agreement "On principles of deduction of indirect tax" has already been ratified by the Milli Mejlis and Russian State Duma and the treaty is expected to be...... полностью

In January 2001, 74.3 billion passengers, or 3.5% over 2000, used public transport vehicles. The growth was observed on all types of public transport, including underground. 97% of those using the services of automobile vehicles were conveyed by private sector vehicles. 62,000 passengers, 22.3% over last year, used air transport. 18% preferred private airlines.*... читать

In January 2001, AZM272 billion, or 0.7% over 2000, were made in fixed assets from all financial sources. Of this amount, AZM162 billion (59.6%) is foreign investment and AZM110 billion (40.4%) local. 80.4% of the investment in fixed assets was spent on industrial construction.*... читать

Russia can provide a technical credit of $25 million for reconstruction of the carriage depot of the Baku Underground. The proposal was put forward by Russian President Putin during a recent visit to Baku, chief of the Baku Underground Taghi Ahmadov told a news conference at the Yeni Azerbaijan HQs Friday. According to him, in February the underground executives held preliminary talks with Russian ministries of finance and economics. If Azerbaijan is satisfied with Russia’s credit terms, it...... полностью

President of Conoco Eurasia Mr. Martin Lockley thinks the gas to be produced from Shah-Daniz field will positively affect the work of the liquefied gas terminal in Batumi. According to him, a very small quantity of Kazakh and Turkmen gas is being exported from the terminal and the Shah-Daniz gas will enable a full workload of the facility. Under the protocol signed between SOCAR and Conoco in 1997, the company is to the study the gas industry development program and the investment volume ne...... полностью