News Digest

Greek president to attend inauguration of European House
Greek President Konstantinos Stephanapulos will visit Azerbaijan over June 30 - July 1. During the trip, President Stephanapulos will meet his Azerbaijani counterpart Heydar Aliyev and top government officials and sign several agreements on economical cooperation.
The visit program includes participation in the opening ceremony of European House, aimed at regulating the relationships between the European Union (EU) and newly independent states. Coordinator of European House in Azerbaijan, Mrs. Yani Bosher, told AssA-Irada the president is expected to attend the official opening ceremony of the office, located in ISR Plaza hotel, on June 30.
Though the EU intended initially to rent a building for the European House, later they changed their mind, getting satisfied with renting apartment in the 3rd stage of ISR Plaza Hotel.

Nato Secretary General expected
Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson has confirmed his visit to Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has told AssA-Irada the alliance head is arriving to Azerbaijan in the latter half of Friday. He will start his trip with the inauguration of the Virtual Silk Route project, then address Milli Maclis (parliament), and answer questions from MPs. He is also expected to meet Prime Minister Artur Rasizada and give a press conference on results of the trip.
Lord Robertson will leave Baku on Saturday.

Local staff at foreign embassies free from taxation
Despite being highly paid, Azerbaijani citizens enlisted as local staff at foreign embassies are not taxed.
Following the announcement, Minister for Taxes Fazil Mammadov stressed the necessity of "settling the issue urgently."
The minister went on to say that the diplomatic missions don't show special interest in the settlement of the problem of tax evasion. "But they [embassies] must observe Azerbaijani laws," Fazil Mammadov warned.
He did not elaborate on the embassies, where the problem exists, but promised to settle it soon.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is in charge of holding relevant talks with embassies over the issue.

A taste of Austria this summer
Days of Austrian culture are to be held in Baku early in June.
A source at New Baku and Vienna, an Azerbaijani-Austrian organisation, told AssA-Irada that Austria's noted dance companies, actors, artists and cookery experts will visit Baku on the occasion of the event, to take part in a variety of arrangements and concert programs planned.

Baku-Paris air run suspended
State Airlines Concern, AzAL, has suspended Baku-Paris trips, following a national strike that began in France on Tuesday. AzAL press office told AssA-Irada that passengers had preliminarily been informed of the suspension, and been offered alternative trips.
AzAL carried three air trips to Paris a week.

Qobustan venue for fashion show
Faxriyya Xalafova, a well-known Azerbaijani fashion designer, is preparing for the presentation of a new clothes collection, Qobustan.
The designer has chosen the Qobustan reserve as a venue for the show.
She has told AssA-Irada that the presentation to be arranged in one of the summer months will also be featured with historical attributes of Azerbaijan.
In addition to her own designs, Xalafova has promised to show yet non-shown works by young masters.
The designer said that recognised foreign modellers will attend the show.