Press Release No. 04/269

The government of the Azerbaijan Republic has notified the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it has accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the IMF's Articles of Agreement, with effect from November 30, 2004.

By Article VIII, Sections 2, 3 and 4, IMF members notably undertake not to restrict the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions, and not to engage in, or permit any of their fiscal agencies to engage in any discriminatory currency arrangement or multiple currency practice, except with IMF approval.

A total of 162 of the IMF's 184 members have now accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3 and 4.

By accepting the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3 and 4, Azerbaijan signals to the international community that it will pursue economic policies which will make restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions unnecessary, and will contribute to a multilateral payments system free of restrictions.

Azerbaijan joined the IMF on September 18, 1992. Its quota¹ is SDR 160.9 million (about US$248.0 million). Azerbaijan's outstanding financial obligations to the IMF amounted to SDR 139.15 million (about US$214.5 million) as of October 31, 2004.

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¹ A member's quota in the IMF determines, in particular, the amount of its subscription, its voting weight, its access to IMF financing and its share of the allocation of SDRs.