WB regional director: Azerbaijan can enter top ten in Doing Business report

By  Trend

Azerbaijan is already in the next Doing Business report of the World Bank (WB) and the International Finance Corporation can get into the top ten ease of doing business rankings, Mercy Tembon, Regional Director of the Bank for the South Caucasus, said in an exclusive interview with Trend on March 5.

Azerbaijan ranked 25th among 190 countries in the Doing Business 2019: Training and Reforms and 57th in the Doing Business 2018.

Tembon expressed satisfaction with the fact that Azerbaijan's position in the ranking is improving every year and hope that this trend will continue.

The regional director noted, in the latest Doing Business 2019: Training and Reforms report Azerbaijan on the category of "Start of Business" entered the list of top ten reformers.

Also, according to Tembon, important aspects are the simplification of connecting enterprises to the power supply system and obtaining a permit for the construction and operation of real estate. She added that Azerbaijan is implementing important reforms in this direction.

Further, Tembon noted that the World Bank is proud of Azerbaijan's success.

"We support the economic and social reforms undertaken by President Ilham Aliyev. We support these reforms because they are aimed at improving people's quality of life and reducing poverty," she said.

These reforms are aimed at the development of economy and the more the economy develops, the more the quality of life improves, Tembon said.

Commenting on the changes made to the Tax Code of Azerbaijan, the regional director noted that these changes are very important.

"The tax system is a system that prevents the attraction of investments and I hope that these changes will positively affect the country's economy," she said.

She added that the WB is working with Azerbaijan in different directions.

"As the World Bank, we operate in all corners of the world, therefore we offer countries, including Azerbaijan, the best practice. I am very glad that the countries of the Caucasus region are rapidly developing in all directions," Tembon said.

The use of information technologies is also very important, the WB regional director noted.

It is necessary to expand the single window system and reduce the number of days required for registration and obtaining licenses, she said adding that it all helps to ensure transparency and efficiency, as well as increase trust in the management system.

Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. During this period, the bank allocated loans for over 50 projects worth over $3 billion in the country. Currently, seven more projects worth about $1.5 billion are being implemented. In addition to loans, in 1995-2014, the WB allocated 45 grants totaling $41.586 million to Azerbaijan.