The development bank is “progressing” its financing to the $40 billion pipeline project with a final board decision expected by the end of the year.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is pushing ahead with plans to lend $500 million to Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor project after the nation was suspended from an international oil-wealth transparency watchdog, Bloomberg reported.

The development bank is “progressing” its financing to the $40 billion pipeline project with a final board decision expected by the end of the year, Suma Chakrabarti, the EBRD’s president, said in an interview in London.
 
“What’s happened on the EITI is very, very unfortunate,” Chakrabarti said. He was critical of the watchdog’s decision, saying that “quite a lot of people” were “worried about some of the criteria that are now being used in EITI.”

On March 8-9, 2017 EITI International Board held its 36th meeting in Bogota, Columbia. Azerbaijan was represented by delegation led by SOFAZ Executive Director Shahmar Movsumov.
 
Several issues were discussed at the meeting and it was decided to suspend membership of four countries – Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Solomon Islands and Azerbaijan to EITI.
 
Shahmar Movsumov stated that the decision was unjust.

News.Az