Press Review 20.07.17

Azerbaijan-Latvia relations, the situation with problem loans, corruption in public procurement are the leading topics of today's press.

The Azerbaijan writes about Azerbaijan-Latvia relations in the light of the recent visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Latvia. The author reminds that the relations between the countries were born in the first decade of the 20th century, and he also tells about the activities of the Latvian society in Baku. The article talks about the difficult way in which both countries went to gain their independence, as well as about the current cooperation between the two countries and their cooperation within the framework of international structures.

The Echo has published an article titled "Problem loans in Azerbaijan reach an anti-record level". The financial bodies of Azerbaijan hide the real volume of problem loans. The conducted analyzes give grounds to assert that their share in the country is expressed by a two-digit figure - about 20%. There are even banks, half of whose loan portfolio is a problem. And these are critical indicators.

The Novoye Vremya has published an article titled "How to save state funds?" At the end of 2016, 8,757 state purchases were made in Azerbaijan for a total of 3 billion manat. 67.2% of the state purchases were made in the first half of the year, and 32.8% were made in the second half. Problems with transparency begin here.

In general, according to the Accounting Chamber, deficiencies were found in 825 cases, or 20.7% of the purchases. On the other hand, lack of control leads to the fact that a lot of money is spent not in accordance with the stated goals.

Increasing transparency in public procurement, creating a single portal and providing complete information on public procurement will save 20% in the worst case scenario, and at best, even more funds, which will be much more useful for the state budget than transferring the obligations of bankrupt state enterprises to the state.