Daniel

Hayward

During the reporting period, the consolidation of authoritarian rule in Azerbaijan continued. Snap parliamentary elections in February 2020 did not meet international standards for free and fair competition. However, some notorious high-ranking state officials were fired, and corrupt local level administrators detained on corruption charges. These developments, in addition to the appointment of some young professionals to ministerial posts, raised hopes for a possible opening of the country to real reforms and changes.

The Azerbaijan Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) Update 2022 identifies the most critical challenges facing the government in the effort to achieve the country’s national goals and the twin goals of eradicating extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. It also identifies policy priorities to address these challenges within a changing economic and geopolitical environment. The SCD is a comprehensive evidence-based analysis founded on the latest data and analyses available.

This country gender assessment (CGA) for the Republic of Azerbaijan was undertaken as part of FAO and national commitments to promote gender equality while integrating a gender perspective into its operations. The resulting CGA report focuses on the intersections of gender, agriculture and rural development, and presents a snapshot of critical gender-based inequalities and their consequences for agricultural production and rural livelihoods in Azerbaijan.

Overview of the State of Forests and Forest Management in Azerbaijan derives from the project on the state of forests in the Caucasus and Central Asia and presents the forest resources and the forest sector of Azerbaijan, including trends in, and pressures on forests. The overview describes policies and institutions of forest sector in Azerbaijan and major challenges the sector faces as well as policy responses in place or planned.

This Country Assessment (CA) for Azerbaijan is prepared under the ADB Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) 7433: Mainstreaming Land Acquisition and Resettlement Safeguards in the Central and West Asia Region. The RETA objective is to foster more effective infrastructure development in the region through the improvement of land acquisition and resettlement (LAR) practices.This country assessment entailed an analysis of project documents, a review of national legislation and questionnaires/interviews with representatives of state agencies, and LAR-affected communities.