Baku: Azerbaijan has initiated a series of training sessions focusing on the implementation of a new budget mechanism, as announced at an opening session jointly organized by the Ministry of Finance, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and the World Bank.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the event, which took place on February 11, included discussions and presentations on the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the transition to program and performance-based budgeting mechanisms. These discussions highlighted international cooperation, future steps in the reform process, and capacity-building training sessions for the application of the new budget mechanism.

The event saw participation from various high-level representatives, including those from the Administration of the President of Azerbaijan, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Chamber of Accounts, alongside international financial organizations and independent experts. Ilham Karimov, Director of the Center for the Preparation of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework at the Ministry of Finance, delivered a speech detailing the history of the reforms and the significance of performance-based budgeting as a fiscal regulation tool.

Guy Bonvin, Deputy Head of Switzerland’s Regional Cooperation Office, and Stefanie Stallmeister, the World Bank’s Country Manager for Azerbaijan, emphasized the project’s impact on public financial management. They noted that upcoming support initiatives would further accelerate these reforms.

World Bank experts shared international best practices on MTEF implementation, while Ministry of Finance representatives provided insights into ongoing public finance management reforms and the setup for the performance-based budgeting mechanism. They also discussed the organization of theoretical-methodological and practical training sessions for capacity building in the sectors involved in the reforms.

Following the opening session, a general theoretical-methodological training program is set to be conducted by the Ministry of Finance’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework Preparation Center from February 17 to 28. Additionally, specialized practical training sessions led by World Bank experts are scheduled from April to June 2024.