Press Review for 31 March 2018

The Azerbaijan-Iran economic ties and the decline in the manufacturing industry are the topics of today's press.

The newspaper Azerbaijan writes about a new stage of economic relations between Iran and Azerbaijan against the backdrop of the visit of the Iranian President to Baku on March 28.

The author recalls the signing of important bilateral documents and the change of contradictions between the two countries on the issue of Caspian Sea oil and gas fields by mutual cooperation.

Further on, the article talks about the cooperation of the parties in the field of machine building, referring to the Khazar automobile plant, as well as cooperation in the field of tourism.

The website Azadliqinfo.az writes about the decline in the processing industry of the country. The author Nemat Aliyev is trying to find the reasons for the recession, based on the statistical data.

According to statistics for January-February 2018, 80% of the processing industry experienced a decline. In 2017, this figure was 41%.

The expert believes it is necessary to create favorable conditions for investment as soon as possible and to eliminate bureaucratic arbitrariness, lawlessness, corruption, and monopoly.

The Novoye Vremya newspaper writes that appraisal activity is one of the main directions of the economy. However this sphere of activity remains also one of the most corrupt in Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, the national sphere of appraisal activity expects legislative amendments, but it is not clear whether the problem of objectivity of the appraisers will be solved. The existing law On Appraisal Activities needs to be revised, because it came into force 20 years ago. -0--