POLITICS
World Bank Country Manager hails Azerbaijani government`s work to solve problems of refugees and IDPs
World Bank Country Manager for Azerbaijan Larisa Leshchenko has praised what the Azerbaijani government is doing to solve the problems of refugees and IDPs.
“The World Bank is interested in maintaining cooperation with Azerbaijan, and working with IDPs,” she told Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister, chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs Affairs, chairman of the Commission for International Humanitarian Assistance Ali Hasanov. Ms. Leshchenko expressed her confidence that projects related to refugees and IDPs will further be successfully implemented.
Mr. Hasanov said the relations between the Azerbaijani government and the World Bank “reached a qualitatively new level in the past few years”. He stressed the importance of joint projects.
“The government of Azerbaijan is solving the problems of citizens. Our growing economic potential allows us to do it.”
Mr. Hasanov highlighted the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the problems of more than 1.2 million refugees and IDPs. He stressed the necessity of implementing projects aimed at improving the living standard of refugees and IDPS, including supporting youth and micro-loan programs.
They also discussed “Azerbaijan - Internally Displaced Person (IDP) Living Standards and Livelihoods Project” which is implemented under a loan agreement signed between the Azerbaijani government and the World Bank. Some 44 micro-projects were implemented benefiting more than 42,000 IDPs throughout Azerbaijan in the first nine months of the year.
Mr. Hasanov said the government of Azerbaijan was interested in continuing cooperation with the World Bank and benefiting from its experience.