The EBRD predicted that growth in the South Caucasus and Central Asia in 2021 would be stronger than it initially expected, though it warned a slow pace of vaccinations left the recovery vulnerable to an autumn COVID-19 wave.

War is good for business, goes the old saying This adage is applicable to more than just defense industries. Some of the longest running international conflicts – between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Israel and the Palestinians, Morocco and Algeria-backed separatist organization Polisario, and India and Pakistan, all share several common denominators despite different cultures, histories, geopolitical positions, and political and economic climates.

Payment of the last of three $240 million instalments will be deferred to January 3, 2022. It was initially supposed to be made in June this year.