Baku hosts presentation of project Development of Financial Services

Presentation ceremony dedicated to the project Development of Financial Services in post offices of Azerpocht LLC of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies in accordance with the Agreement on Development Credit, signed in 2005 between the Government of Azerbaijan and the World Bank, has been held.

Prior to the presentation ceremony, representatives of Azerbaijani government and international organizations (Universal Postal Union - UPU, World Bank , Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications - RCC) were in the administrative building of Azerpocht, where they got acquainted with the work carried out under the project Development of Financial Services.

At a presentation ceremony held at the Hyatt Regency, event participants saw a documentary featuring the progress of the project Development of Financial Services.

Then, addressing the ceremony Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov emphasized the importance of the event in postal sphere in Azerbaijan, and assessed the provision of financial services in post offices of Azerpocht as a new stage of development in this sphere.

The Minister on behalf of all employees of mail service expressed his deep gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev for support to the project, the country`s government, international organizations, in particular to the UPU and the World Bank, whose cooperation really promoted to the implementation of the project.

The postal sector of the country is also developing together with the declared priority and successfully growing sector of information and communication technologies in Azerbaijan.

However, in recent years with the development of information technologies and traditional postal services gradually lose its former importance, and in this case postal organizations in the world looking for new ways to grow revenue. And the project launched in 2005, today pays dividends, said Ali Abbasov.

In his speech, the Minister noted that almost all postal infrastructure of the country had been reconstructed.

Implementation of the project has already begun, and Azerpocht should sustain the intense competition in the financial market. However, Ali Abbasov noted that international organizations and experts evaluating the work realized as part of the project give encouraging predictions in this direction.

Along with the financial services Azerpocht has started providing traditional services in a new high quality manner the minister added.

Besides that, Ali Abbasov noted the practical benefits and value of the project in the overall development of the economy, in implementing state programs, particularly in the socio-economic development of regions and the project will allow population living in remote areas to access to the information field, which is of great importance in the implementation of e- government project.

Following the Minister, the chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) Elman Rustamov spoke at the presentation ceremony. “We are participating in the presentation ceremony of a new postal system, I would even say that the postal financial system.

It was a difficult project, involving many risks. At the initial stage different opinions on its success were sounded. However, cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies and international organizations, gives us this opportunity to say that the project was successful,” said Elman Rustamov. Moreover, the head of the CBA said the project has great prospects and completely coordinates with the economic objectives of government projects.

UPU Director General Edouard Dayan, who arrived in Azerbaijan especially to participate in the presentation of the project, congratulated the participants and said he was happy to be here, at the presentation of the project, which is a model for the postal administrations of many countries.

In his speech, the head of the UPU touched the global problems of postal communications at present time, noting the importance of providing new services along with traditional ones in this age of information technologies.

World Bank Country Director for South Caucasus, Asad Alam congratulated participants on the implementation of the project. Being in two post offices on the way from Tbilisi to Baku, he personally was convinced of the changes that have occurred in the postal sector of Azerbaijan.
The World Bank is ready to continue cooperation with the government in the name of development and prosperity of Azerbaijan, added Asad Alam.

Director General of the Executive Committee for the Regional Commonwealth of Independent States Nurudin Mukhitdinov also congratulated the participants on the occasion. He said that investments in the postal sector in Azerbaijan display the government`s attention to the development of this sphere. And this project, its successful implementation in Azerbaijan, is a good example for all countries in the region.

In conclusion, the event was addressed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Abid Sharifov and on behalf of the Government of Azerbaijan, he thanked international organizations participating in the project.

Recalling the words of President Ilham Aliyev about the need to turn oil capital into human capital Abid Sharifov said the project was successful, and noted a number of other important projects currently being implemented by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, including the creation of Regional Innovation Zone (RIZ), and launching Azerbaijan`s first own telecommunications satellite into orbit and creation of Trans-Eurasian Super Information Highway (TASIM).

In his speech, Abid Sharifov brought to the notice of the participants that he personally witnessed the effectiveness of the new postal system during the natural disasters which took place this summer in 5 districts of Azerbaijan, through this system it was possible to pay government compensation to the people suffered from disaster.


/AzerTAc/