OREANDA-NEWS. September 8, 2008. BP on behalf of its co-venturers in Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Economic Development (MoED), recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the implementation of an advisory programme on macroeconomic management and institutional reform.

BP informed that the objective of this project is to assist the MoED in managing high economic growth, achieving macroeconomic stability, and implementing efficient structural reforms.

“We are pleased to have this opportunity to support the Ministry of Economic Development by contributing to the development of capability in areas of macroeconomic analysis, institutional reforms planning, and policy formulation. The project will also provide recommendations and assistance in structural reforms planning and implementation processes through leading international advisory services. The entire project has been designed in close co-ordination with the Ministry, and we strongly believe once successfully implemented, it will benefit the country,” says Bill Schrader, President of BP in Azerbaijan.

“We welcome this project, which covers a range of areas that are very important for planning Azerbaijan’s economic growth at this stage. These include implementation of economic analyses, evaluation of key economic data and preparation of long-term macroeconomic projections, advice on enhancing structural reforms, including institutional development, building analytical and planning capacity within MoED for the adoption of  comprehensive public investment policies, enhancement of MoED capacity in preparing a concept paper for the annual budget submissions and strengthening of statistical data analysis to monitor macroeconomic conditions and evaluate the impact of structural reforms on economic growth. All of these are priority activity directions ensuring Azerbaijan’s dynamic development in the near future”, says Heydar Babayev, Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan.