Fourth direction of AZTAF nears finalization, says World Bank Manager

The four directions of the Administrative Agreement on the Azerbaijan Rapid Technical Assistance Facility (AZTAF) are nearing completion, Azernews reports that this was stated by the World Bank’s country manager for Azerbaijan, Stefanie Stallmeister, during the second annual report meeting on AZTAF, which is financed by the European Union (EU) and managed by the World Bank.

"AZTAF is a technical assistance program funded by the EU and implemented by the World Bank. The program was created in close cooperation with the Azerbaijani government and the Ministry of Economy as the main partners, as well as consultations with other state institutions. AZTAF aims to support the key goals and priorities of national development as outlined in Azerbaijan's socio-economic development strategy for 2022-2026," she said.

Stallmeister noted that the activities of AZTAF in providing technical assistance directly support the implementation of the measures and main directions of this strategy.

"The program covers a broad spectrum of topics, from energy efficiency to women's entrepreneurship and 'smart' villages, encompassing a total of nine areas. It is encouraging that all nine areas, which we will learn more about today, are actively promoted towards achieving development goals, and four of these measures are already nearing completion," she added.

It should be noted that the AZTAF program was launched to support the Azerbaijani government in achieving the development goals of the "Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development.