MAIN NEWS
USACC Holds Briefing to Commemorate the Signing of the Contract of the Century
WASHINGTON DC - The United States-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (USACC) held a briefing on September 29 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Contract of the Century.
Signed on September 20, 1994, this contract serves as a milestone for development of the energy resources in the Caspian Sea with international energy companies. more
US-Azerbaijan Economic Taskforce to Meet in Washington
The 9th meeting of the US – Azerbaijan Economic Taskforce will be held in Washington DC on October 5. The meeting will be focused on a range of issues, including macroeconomic situation in Azerbaijan, combating money laundering and corruption, relations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, raising tariffs for domestic energy carriers and natural gas, and adoption of a new law "On National Bank". more
Armenia Puts Off Talks on the Karabakh Conflict
After the Astana meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, Yerevan has postponed the talks over the settlement of the Nagorno (Mountainous) Karabakh conflict, according to Assa Irada report.
Commenting on Armenia 's initiative, Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov confirmed the fact that the Armenian side has requested a delay to analyze the results of the talks held so far. The date for the next round of talks with the Armenian side has not been determined yet, he said. more
Azerbaijan and Georgia Reinforce Links
An Azerbaijani governmental delegation including the country's foreign and education ministers visited Georgia this week.
Azerbaijan 's Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov met with President Mikheil Saakashvili, Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania and the Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili. more
ECONOMY
Economic Boost Expected in 2005, Minister of Economic Development Says
Azerbaijan will see rapid economic growth in 2005, Minister of Economic Development Farhad Aliyev said.
According to Minister Aliyev, 2005 will see a rapid GDP growth, expected to reach $9.75 billion next year, 14.1% increase compared to 2004. The base oil price is expected to be at $25 a barrel, the Minister said. Current inflation rate is 5.9%, and it is forecasted to remain at 5% throughout the next year. more
Azerbaijan to Adopt Oil Revenue Employment Strategy
Baku . (Interfax-Azerbaijan) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will endorse a long-term strategy of employing oil revenues in the near future, Azerbaijani Economic Development Minister Farhad Aliyev told Interfax.
"A draft of the long-term strategy of employing Azerbaijani oil revenues designed by specialists from the Ministry of Economic Development and the National Oil Fund has already been cleared by relevant ministries and state agencies, and it is expected to be endorsed by the head of the state in the near future," Aliyev said. more
Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to fund a Glass Factory Project in Baku
Azernews - The Board of Directors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank headquartered in Saloniki, Greece has approved a 5 year loan of Euro 5 million to Azerbaijan to build the Azershusha (Azerglass) factory. more
Bakutel-2004: ITC Exhibition Opens in Baku
Azernews -- The 10th Azerbaijan International Telecommunications and Information Technologies Exhibition, BakuTel-2004, was held at the Sports and Exhibition Complex of Baku from September 29 to October 2. The event was organized by Iteca Caspian, a subsidiary of the British ITE Group PLC. more
Volkswagen Cars to be Produced at Ganja Plant
AssA-Irada -- Talks between the Azeri government and German Volkswagen to set up manufacturing and assembly lines for Volkswagen brand cars at the Ganja plant are close to completion, Minister of Economic Development Farhad Aliyev told reporters. more
Foreign Exchange Reserves Grow 11.8%
Baku.(Interfax) - The National Bank of Azerbaijan's foreign- exchange reserves grew 11.8% to $846.69 million during January-September, 2004, the bank said on a press release.
Credit payments including interest to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) totaled $48.74 million in the period, the bank said.
The bank said it achieved most of the growth in foreign exchange reserves by purchasing currency in the domestic market.
ENERGY
LUKOIL's Share in Zigh Field Project May Be Sold
President of Lukoil, Mr. Vahid Alakparov has proposed to either increase LUKoil's share in the Zigh field project or authorize the company to sell its share of oil from this field abroad instead of the domestic market, Assa Irada news agency reported.
A source from SOCAR said Azerbaijan is not concerned about LUKoil's intentions to sell its share in the project. Baku will support its national interests within this project. more
British Company to Purchase 6th Portion of SOCAR's Profit Oil
Glencore Energy UK Ltd has won the tender to purchase the sixth portion (1 million barrels) of Azeri Light profit oil. It will be exported by the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) through Baku-Supsa pipeline in October.
This will be the thirty-sixth portion of the profit oil produced from the Chirag field under the Azer-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) project. more
Caspian Oil & Gas Fields-2004 Conference Due in Baku in October
The International East Oil Academy , the Fuel and Energy Ministry, SOCAR, DenizNeftGasLayiha (“Caspian Oil and Gas Project”) Institute, Baku State University , and the State Oil Academy will organize the sixth international Caspian Oil and Gas Fields-2004 scientific conference in Baku on October 12-14. more
Azerbaijan 's First Wind Power Station to Be Built in the Julfa District
Azerbaijan 's first wind power station will be built in the Julfa district of Nakhchyvan Autonomous Republic, according to Azerenergy JSC. This will be an experimental wind power station. more
NON-OIL DEVELOPMENT
Shamkir Winemaking Plant Secures a Good Deal during Ganja Business Forum
A two-day regional business forum in Ganja has finished with a successful deal for the Shamkir Winemaking Plant. The enterprise signed a contract on the supply of 1.5 million bottles of Azerbaijan wine to Belarus during the exhibition organized within the forum. more
World Bank to extend $25 million to Azerbaijan
Baku . (Interfax) - Azerbaijan and the World Bank signed an agreement on Thursday on extending two loans worth a total of $25 million to finance projects in pension reform and agricultural development.
World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Donna Dowsett- Coirolo said during the signing ceremony that both projects are directed at reducing poverty and supporting economic development in Azerbaijan. more
MEMBER AREA
CATEL Eager to Become 3rd Cellular Communications Operator in Azerbaijan
AssA-Irada – Caspian American Telecom (CATEL), an Azerbaijani-US joint venture (JV) has applied to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies to operate as a cellular communications provider in Azerbaijan. more
NOTICE
The newsletter aims to inform USACC's membership and its wider audience about important political and economic events in the country and the region. It will also serve to highlight business opportunities in Azerbaijan. This newsletter broadcast service is designed based on news stories that are written by news agencies, newspapers, respective authors, and other information sources. USACC owns and retains all intellectual property rights to this newsletter but does not claim ownership rights to all the news stories.
The content of the newsletter may not be copied, published or redistributed without the written permission of USACC or directly from the original source, when the author is not USACC. Please direct your questions or feedback to USACC at news@usacc.org
