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Under the Privatization Law, the following are considered to be foreign investors: • Foreign legal entities and their subsidiaries; • Azerbaijani legal entities in which participation of foreign investment exceeds 50% of the entity's charter capital; • Foreign nationals; and • Stateless persons.

The Republic of Azerbaijan is the leading FDI (foreign direct investment) destination in the region. In the last decade the total FDI stock in Azerbaijan exceeded 25 bln USD. Azerbaijan has achieved gradual improvement in the overall legal framework for the investment activities in the country for last several years with a number of practical regulations liberalizing conduct of business and reducing red tape obstacles. It carried out a revolutionary legal reform several years ago with adoption of new Tax code, Civil and Civil Procedure Codes, Land Code, Labor Code, Customs Code, Foreign Exchange Law as well as Law on International Arbitration made the system a way more transparent and friendly for local and foreign businesses.

Azerbaijan achieved stable and rapid growth for 10 consecutive years starting from 1995.
Now the country is one of the most rapidly recovering economies in the world. The GDP annual surplus in 2004 was 10.2%. A record growth for the year 2005 is estimated at 26.4% (highest growth indicator globally for the year). It is highly probable that the country will be the global leader in economic growth in the year 2006 too. Nominal wages grew by 21.9% in the year 2005. Almost all other major economic indicators point out a similar growth pattern.

Medicine counterfeiting is a worrying problem that spreads across most countries. In Azerbaïdjan, customers don’t have confidence in the governmental authorities. Indeed, the pharmaceutical market has just begun its development in a country where no law applies the founded standards and rules. The Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan, which enables the drugs registration, has decided to take things in hands and fired government officials.

Friendship is unquestionably something revered by Russian culture in general, while also being an important component of many people’s daily lives. What does friendship mean? What is this bond between people?