An old man with a bucket of pomegranates lingers outside one of Baku’s luxury clothing shops attracting no interest. Inside, elegant Azerbaijanis shop for luxurious European attire.
A wave of money is hitting the country, as oil production climbs at Azeri field in the Caspian Sea. Gross domestic product grew 26 per cent last year, the fastest rate in the world. But most of the non-oil economy, neglected since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, is isolated and outmoded.
