Baku is brilliant
/I’m currently in Baku, capital city of Azerbaijan, working on a proposed Asian Development Bank US$750 million loan to the government to fix up Soviet–era electricity distribution networks (mostly in rural areas). This is work-in-progress and some difficult decisions still need to be taken, so I can’t say too much right now.
One observation I can share is that having the state coffers brimming with oil royalties does not seem to be an exclusively good thing for a country. Strange things happen and long-term perspectives get distorted. Economic realities become tomorrow’s problem and instead, baubles appear and everything shines.
Not a mirage, as such, but not the full picture either.
But never mind any of that. It’s mid-summer and Baku is a gorgeous city with a penchant for enjoying itself. Who am I to argue with that?
Paul White