Baku: Anar Karimov, Azerbaijan's First Deputy Minister of Finance, held a meeting with a World Bank delegation led by Fabienne Mroczka, Senior Public Sector Specialist. The discussions centered on the implementation and future prospects of the Capacity Building in the Field of Medium Term Expenditure program, a joint initiative supported by the World Bank and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Anar Karimov highlighted the significant importance of the ongoing cooperation between Azerbaijan and the World Bank in enhancing public financial management. The collaboration aims to strengthen fiscal discipline, strategic budget planning, and results-based management mechanisms. The program has already achieved notable results in fortifying Azerbaijan's medium-term fiscal framework, refining strategic budgeting practices, and facilitating the shift towards program-based budgeting.
The meeting also addressed the digitalization and digital transformation of public financial management, with a focus on analyzing and modernizing the digital ecosystem and implementing contemporary information systems. These efforts are part of the ongoing collaboration with the World Bank.
Fabienne Mroczka acknowledged the high level of cooperation with Azerbaijan, recognizing the critical role of ongoing reforms in modernizing the public financial management system. She emphasized the expansion of results-based budgeting mechanisms and the strengthening of institutional capacity.
The discussion further explored the application of program and results-based budgeting in sectors such as healthcare, youth and sports, culture, and media. Plans for upcoming training sessions for government officials and the transition of these sectors to program-based budgeting were reviewed. The meeting also underscored the need to further institutionalize budgeting processes, enhance monitoring and evaluation systems, improve fiscal risk management, and expand digital transformation and analytical forecasting capabilities.