AZERBAIJAN: SUCCESSFUL MINISTERIAL-LEVEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BAKU 000573 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/15/2016 TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV PREL AJ SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: SUCCESSFUL MINISTERIAL-LEVEL MACROECONOMIC BUDGET SEMINAR ENDS WITH HOPE FOR FURTHER REFORMS Classified By: AMBASSADOR RENO L. HARNISH III PER 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Ambassador Harnish hosted the first ever ministerial-level seminar on macroeconomic, budget and public investment planning strategies that brought together the Ministers of FinQce and Economic Development, National Bank Chairman and other high-level Government of Azerbaijan officials. Presentations by the World Bank and the Public Investment Policy Project USAID contractor focused on steps the GOAJ needs to take to improve its macroeconomic framework and budget preparation; they also sparked debate between the ministers and IFI representatives on the GOAJ's budget process. At times, ministers disagreed with one another on the establishment of a budget council and development of a long-term economic strategy plan and also complained about the lack of GOAJ internal coordination. As a result of the seminar, the Ministers and National Bank Chairman left with a stronger understanding of the importance of efficient budget preparation and the critical role that government coordination plays in managing the country's oil wealth, alleviating poverty and developing the non-oil sector. As a followQn to the seminar, the GOAJ will hopefully take several proposals under consideration, including the creation of a high-level macroeconomic and budget council. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) On April 12, Ambassador Harnish hosted a four-hour long ministerial-level seminar on macroeconomic, budget and public investment planning strategies with the Government of Azerbaijan. The Ministers of Finance and Economic Development, National Bank Chairman, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, and representatives from the President's office, Ministry of Transportation, Customs Committee, international financial institutions and diplomatic corps attended the seminar. The World Bank, the USAID contractor managing the Public Investment Policy Project (PIPP),the Deputy Minster of Finance and the head of the Economic Policy and Forecasting Division of the Ministry of Economic Development delivered key budget process presentations that sparked a lively discussion among the participants. The PIPP presentation in particular, with its dynamic budget flow diagram, led Economic Development Minister Babayev to whisper questions privately to his deputy minister. MINISTERS STRESS KEY THEMES -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In their opening statements, Finance Minister Avaz Alakbarov and Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev expressed positive and negative aspects of the GOAJ's budget process. Finance Minister Alakbarov highlighted the tremendous importance of sound and efficient budget planning and coordination. He also stressed the need for GOAJ monitoring and assessment of macroeconomic indicators and their effect on the overall economy. Alakbarov noted that the GOAJ is dedicated to public sector inQstment, reduction of poverty and rural regional development. He added that Azerbaijan's accelerated growth rate, increasing state budget expenditures, growing inflation and currency appreciation will make meeting the GOAJ's goals complicated. Alakbarov stressed the need to strengthen control over public expenditures by improving internal controls and audits. He acknowledged the role of the newly automated treasury system (funded by the U.S.) in improving the analysis of expenditures. ¶4. (SBU) Economic and Development Minister Heydar Babayev told the group that the GOAJ is aware of the economic problems and challenges. He said that the country's rapid growth rate, increasing inflation and integration into the global economy has complicated the government's ability to manage the economy and develop the non-oil sector. Babayev stressed that oil revenue management was critical to long-term success. He stated that national Qdget priorities need to fit with national goals and priorities. He said that only integrated inter-ministerial work could help solve the problem of unsatisfactory linkages between national and sectoral economic planning and the budget. He touched on the need for improved capacity of civil servants. Babayev outlined the major goals of the GOAJ, including increasing growth, properly managing oil revenues, alleviating poverty, improving infrastructure and developing the non-oil sector. Accomplishing all these goals, while maintaining an efficient budget process that meets the entire country's needs, will be a challenge for the GOAJ's economic decision makers. ¶5. (SBU) National Bank Chairman Elmar Rustamov noted that the development and institutionalization of a macroeconomic BAKU 00000573 002 OF 003 framework was critical to developing an efficient budget. He stated that he supported the drafting of a long-term government economic plan, with inputs from IFIs, that would focus on sound economic decision making, poverty reduction and development of the non-oil sector economy. He added that institutional cooperation in the GOAJ needed to be strengthened. He supported the idea of creating an economic council, an idea presented in the World Bank and PIPP presentations. WORLD BANK AND PIPP PRESENTATIONS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) World Bank economist Christos Kostopoulos and PIPP Chief of Party Mete Durdag delivered well-informed and detailed presentations on the need for a macroeconomic framework, the role of the Azerbaijani budget law, current institutional weaknesses and several proposals to improve the overall process. Kostopoulos noted that the GOAJ's budget law was a good building block to develop a more integrated and efficient budget process. Kostopoulos reviewed the role of key actors in the budget process, including the State Oil Fund with the National Bank, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Development. He highlighted the circular links between public expenditures and inflation, stressing the importance of macroeconomic forecasting. Kostopoulos presented the group with several proposals, including the establishment of a joint call circular from MOF and MED and the creation of a high-level budget council. ¶7. (SBU) Durdag from PIPP led a detailed and intricate presentation on the overall budget process model. His flow diagram prompted Minister Babayev and Deputy Minister Jabbarov to discuss privately the different linkages. Both PIPP and the World Bank's presentations provided an informative view into the budget process, its strengths and weakness, and, most importantly, helped GOAJ officials to identify the main weaknesses in the current budget process and consider concrete, practical steps to eliminate those weaknesses. GOAJ BUDGET PRESENTATIONS -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Deputy Finance Minister Azer Bayramov and the head of the Economic Policy and Forecasting Division of the Ministry of Economic Development Shahin Sadigov gave budget presentations that outlined the government's budget framework and challenges. Both speakers noted positive and negative aspects of GOAJ budget operations. Bayramov noted that large public capital expenditures can have a negative effect on the economy and cause increased inflationary pressures. He stated that the GOAJ needed to create a realistic macroeconomic and budgetary framework that would facilitate the efficient use of funds, development of the rural sectors and promote sustainable development. Sadigov also highlighted the importance of the macroeconomic framework in order to obtain a correct economic forecasting model. He added that the lack of coordination in the government made it difficult to develop a long-term economic outlook strategy plan. IFIs AND BP SUPPORT GOAJ BUDGET REFORM EFFORTS -------------- - ¶9. (SBU) Representatives from the IMF and World Bank expressed their strong support for GOAJ efforts to improve the budget and public investment planning process. The IMF resident representative welcomed the creation of a high-level economic and budget council. He added that it was essential for the GOAJ to meet its objectives and effectively manage its long-term oil revenues. He stated that the council could keep high-level economic decision makers informed real-time on the state of the economy and facilitate adjustments to government budgetary expenditures. The new World Bank Country Director, Gregory Gedrzdgczak, added that Azerbaijan could learn from the European Union countries that experienced large financial inflows from the EU, noting Spain and Ireland's successes. BP's Chief Economist for CIS, Vladimir Drebentsov, told the group that as an important stakeholder in Azerbaijan's successful economic development, BP was ready to assist the GOAJ in building capacity. He noted that BP is supporting macroeconomic programs at Oxford University and that GOAJ could send relevant officials for training. BP and the State Oil Fund are also collaborating to establish a macroeconomic forecasting model. BAKU 00000573 003 OF 003 POSITIVE END TO SEMINAR WITH SOME GOAJ DISAGREEMENT -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The seminar closed with Finance Minister Alakbarov agreeing to the establishment of a high-level economic and budget council. He stated that creating a macroeconomic working group with the National Bank and Economic Development Ministry would not be a problem and was something the GOAJ should accomplish. He requested IMF and USAID assistance in developing a long-term (25 years) GOAJ economic strategy plan document. Alakbarov noted that the GOAJ needed to establish a macroeconomic framework, expand the system for monitoring of public expenditures, and increase capacity at the Chamber of Accounts and other ministries. He also noted that extra-budgetary expenditures was an important issue that the GOAJ needed to manage, adding that the lack of general governmental coordination was a problem. ¶11. (SBU) In his closing remarks, Minister Babayev surprised the audience by plainly stating that the GOAJ did not need to establish a high-level economic and budget council. He stated that the GOAJ already had the capacity to perform this function. He also informed the group that the GOAJ had already written and presented the President's office with a long-term economic strategy. This led to a brief back and forth discussion with the National Bank Chairman, highlighting the lack of internal discussion and coordination in the government. Babayev did recognize that the GOAJ needed to make a better effort to include all ministries in the budget process. COMMENT -------------- 12 (C) The successful organization of this seminar has been a long-standing goal of the U.S. and the international donor community's Revenue Management Group. GOAJ budget planning and coordination has been a major area of weakness. With this year's 65 percent increase in public expenditures and a similar increase projected for the 2007 budget, the GOAJ needs to formalize its budget preparation process in order to prioritize capital spending projects and avoid significant macroeconomic disruptions. In addition, this seminar highlighted the critical role of the National Bank in preparing the budget and the importance of using macroeconomic modeling to predict effects on the economy. It is widely known that the National Bank was shut out of the 2006 budget process and provided only limited macroeconomic input. As a result, most economic and financial observers expect higher inflation, currency appreciation and a weakening of the non-oil sector. From this seminar, the international community will expect that the GOAJ take critical steps to strengthen its budget and macroeconomic formulations. If Minister Babayev's closing comments are indicative of leading GOAJ thinking, it could be a long road to developing a sound budget process that incorporates all ministries and stakeholders. HARNISH