Baku, June 25
Turan News Agency

President Ilham Aliyev yesterday signed a decree "On improving the mechanism of the funding of some media publications from the state budget".

In line with this document, from the year 2010 some state publications will be funded from the state budget by means of a recently-created fund for state support for media development. So far this category of media was funded from the state budget directly.

The decree also notes that money allocated by the fund for state support for media will grow annually.

Last year, the Cabinet of Ministers endorsed an estimate of spending of the fund for state support for media development for the year 2009. It was established in the amount of 1,304,160 manats (about 1,564,992 dollars). At that, spending on the maintenance of the fund itself will be 204,160 manats (about 244,992 dollars).

In a later report, at 0948 gmt 25 Jun 09, Turan said that the chairman of the fund for support for media, Vuqar Safarli, held a news conference on the same day. He said that 1.3m manats had been allocated to the fund from the state budget. Of this amount, 200,000 will be spent on maintenance of the fund itself and the rest will go to projects selected on a competitive basis, he said.