The United States Government (USG) assistance in Azerbaijan includes support for adoption of economic reforms to promote stability in the region.
The USG also aimed at developing democratic institutions of government and civil society to promote public participation and strengthen the rule of law.
According to the U.S. State Department, USG assistance also aims to strengthen Azerbaijan’s interoperability with NATO and to improve regional security by increasing Azerbaijan’s ability to combat domestic and transnational crime and corruption.
AREAS OF FOCUS:
Peace and Security (P&S)
- Strengthen counter-terrorism skills of law-enforcement bodies
- Prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to or through Azerbaijan
- Increase armed forces’ NATO interoperability, as well as capabilities of peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, and coastal/maritime security
- Increase capacity of the justice system and police to combat transnational crime, including narcotics and trafficking in persons
Governing Justly and Democratically (GJD)
- Improve judicial independence, access to justice and justice sector capacity
- Increase parliamentary transparency, accountability and constituent outreach
- Strengthen ability of government entities and civil society to combat corruption
- Support greater access to balanced information and increase civic participation, particularly among youth and rural communities
- Promote free, fair and participatory elections
Investing in People (IIP)
- Increase quality and accessibility of health care and reproductive health services
- Promote regulatory and institutional reforms in the health care system
Economic Growth (EG)
- Promote economic diversification and private sector development
- Improve transparency in revenue and expenditure management
- Increase institutional capacity in public investment planning and budget management
- Strengthen the Central Bank by improving oversight and financial management practices leading to an inflation targeting-based monetary policy framework
- Support Azerbaijan’s goal of WTO accession
- Strengthen the agricultural sector and assist with infrastructure development.
Humanitarian Assistance (HA)
- Aid vulnerable populations by providing donated food, clothing and medicine
- Provide small reconstruction project grants to institutions to repair structurally deficient facilities
RECENT SUCCESSES:
- Assisted the Azerbaijan Central Electoral Commission to promote fair election practices and produce over 1,700 Voting Day Guides
- Improved 62 health facilities in target regions to meet established criteria for family planning and reproductive health and funded the provision of 4,000 health and family planning sessions that reached over 33,000 people
- Increased agricultural sales by approximately $37M for rural companies and created over 5,000 additional person-years of direct employment
- Helped establish 116 parliamentary constituency offices throughout the country to regularly process citizen requests and engage local media
- Funded the clearance of 1,900 hectares of mines and unexploded ordnance, thereby allowing for construction of housing for 2,000 IDP families