Azerbaijan and the World Bank have signed a deal, in which the bank will issue $50 million for improvement of living standards and income of forced migrants, APA reports.
The loan was granted by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The document was signed by the Azerbaijani Vice-Premier, Ali Hasanov, and the Acting Manager of the WB office in Baku, Said Bagirli. The government has a share of $28.5 million in the project on refugees. The project is worth $78.5 million.
Azerbaijan has the highest number of forced migrants per capita. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resulted in 7% of the Azerbaijani population becoming forced migrants.
The project is based on 400 micro projects of the WB, concerning over 120,000 forced migrants of Azerbaijan.
The project consists of 4 components. It includes realization of about 200 micro projects for 120,000-150,000 people. It will improve conditions for about 30,000 people. 1,400 people will undergo professional training and receive grants. About 200 community groups will receive 1,500 micro loans for business.
Azerbaijan has been cooperating with the WB since 1992. The WB has issued a total of $3.1 billion for realization of 44 Azerbaijani projects.
