The Azerbaijani-French business forum was held on 12th May in Baku, attracting over 200 business participants and government officials. Business sectors such as construction, energy, industry, finance, transport, communication technologies and agriculture were among those represented and 90 of the 200 participants came from France. Addressing the forum, Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy and Industry Shahin Mustafayev said that the expansion of economic cooperation had resulted in more than $1.5b in mutual trade. In Q1 this year more than $370m in trade has been generated: double the figure compared to same period last year. According to the minister, France has invested $2.4bn in Azerbaijan, of which $2.2bn was invested in the oil and gas sector, while its investment in Azerbaijan's non-oil sector to date place the country in 9th place on the list of investor countries. The minister said that developing Azerbaijan's non-oil industries is vital for economic diversification, and is a priority of the socio-economic policy of Azerbaijani government. The minister also pointed that 51 French companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan: involved in sectors such as agriculture, transport, industry, construction and banking. Many of them work in state-financed projects funded to the tune of $1.8bn. Among the projects is the development of Azerbaijan's first telecommunications satellite, a solid waste plant in Baku, the Baku Metro  development and Azerbaijan Airlines. The minister added Azerbaijan has also invested in French real estate with the Azerbaijani State Oil Fund investing 135m euros to date. One of the projects is the Baku harbor development which will make the port the biggest sea trading centre in the region. The port will also be the starting point of the new railway system connecting Europe and Asia, and it will start operating from next year. Azerbaijan's crossroads' location offers a wide range of opportunities for large-scale projects, linking countries and continents. The reconstruction of the old Baku airport and its significant expansion will lead to a substantial increase in the volume of transit flights, including cargo flights. Other large-scale projects benefiting from the country's hub location include a new network of highways the well- known Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and South Caucasus  Pipeline, and the Trans-Anatolian and Trans Adriatic pipelines; to name just a few. These have also increased the importance of our country. The minister added that the last, but not least,  achievement was the signing of an agreement between key investors sealing the future of Shah Deniz - 2, the new energy corridor that will provide further energy security for Europe. Keen to continue growing its political and economic relations with all countries, Azerbaijan is trading with more than 150 countries today, with Europe accounting to 50% of the country's  foreign trade turnover. Furthermore, the minister added, there's a great potential for the expansion of economic and trade relations between Azerbaijan and France, as the country is set to work on its "Vision 2020" programme, aimed at diversifying the economy, increasing its competitiveness, and expanding the development of the non-oil sector. This will present a wealth of opportunities for cooperation across many sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, information and communication technologies, tourism, as well as alternative energy.
The forum contributed to the expansion of cooperation between Azerbaijan and France by aiding the appreciation of the importance of political and economic relations between the two countries, said Kristian Mons, head of France's Land Defence and Security Industry Association (GICAT) and the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF). He added the forum will provide new opportunities for cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Mons said that he was truly touched by country's hospitality and that its interest in expanding cooperation with France was commendable.
More than 750 companies worldwide are members MEDEF, and Mr Mons noted that one of the main objectives of the organization is to help leading companies from around the world to successfully develop and achieve their goals. "One of the main goals of our participation in this forum is to clarify and further expand business opportunities for us in Azerbaijan," he said, and added: "We are very proud to work with our Azerbaijani colleagues. After the restoration of Azerbaijani independence, its rapid and continuous development has been carefully observed around the world."
Mr Mons pointed that MEDEF's involvement in Azerbaijan began in September 2012, and he emphasised that the relationship between the organization and Azerbaijani companies had reached a very high level. As part of the forum there were panels on:  Conventional Energy, Future Energy, Economic Diversification and Industrialization, and Infrastructure and New Technologies. During the energy panel Natiq Abbasov, deputy energy minister for Azerbaijan, said that as a result of the measures taken in recent years generating capacity had reached 7 thousand megawatts. It was noted that at present 30 billion kilowatts of energy are produced every hour. The minister stressed that the president had issued instruction for the development of alternative energy sources. Leading the second panel session Sahil Babayev, deputy economy minister, told the forum about the recently established industrial parks in Azerbaijan. This year has been declared as the "Year of Industry" and will also see construction of two new industrial parks in the regional cities of Ganja and Mingacevir. Musa Panahov, deputy transport minister, highlighted some of his main priorities such as ensuring there's a reliable and safe transport infrastructure which will improve the country's competiveness. There is already a number of large-scale infrastructure projects underway, including the modernisation of roads, railways and air transport, as well as a major reconstruction project being carried out on the underground metro in Baku.