A meeting on solving problems of refugees and internally displaced persons, presided over by Prezident Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, took place on June 21, 2005. Discussions focused on the measures that had been taken for improvement of the socio-economic condition of refugees and IDPs through funding allocations by the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Prezident Ilham Aliyev underlined in his speech that the first allocations from the State Oil Fund were directed towards improvement in living conditions of the refugees and IDPs. The President stressed that new housing for the refugees and IDPs was being constructed using funding from SOFAZ. “The amount of these allocations from the Oil Fund to the problems of refugees and IDPs will be increased”, he said.

Touching upon the Oil Fund’s activity the President pointed out that the Fund was an important and transparent institution. He assessed the Fund’s activity as “strongly controlled”. “The Oil Fund’s major purpose is to save and manage its assets transparently, to increase them and to use them properly for implementation of the projects necessary for Azerbaijan.”

The Executive Director of the Oil Fund, Samir Sharifov, reported to meeting participants about the fundings allocated from SOFAZ for improvement of the socio-economic condition of the refugees and IDPs. He stated that a total of AZM 463 billion was transferred by SOFAZ to the account of the State Committtee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons and the Social Development Fund of the Internally Displaced Persons. Mr. Sharifov pointed out that 6,411 residential houses had been constructed for refugees and IDPs in different regions of Azerbaijan since 2001. “The construction of some 2,522 houses is in its closing stage”, he stressed.

As per the Law "About Budget System" of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the expenditures of SOFAZ directed for improvement of the social and living conditions of the refugees and IDPs are incorporated as part of an annual consolidated government budget and are executed, after approval of the Parliament, from the amounts envisaged by the Fund’s expenditure budget.