On 20 June, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) organized Azerbaijan-Russia Business Forum in Baku with support of the Ministry of Economy.
Government officials and up to 200 businessmen representing food industry, energy, transport, heavy and light industry, trade, engineering, finance, medicine and others attended the event.
The Deputy Minister of Economy Niyazi Safarov emphasized the importance of strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and Russia, given that heads of both states attach high value to development of political and economic relations, which is reflected in mutual visits by government officials and business circles. The Deputy Minister reminded the meetings and discussions held in Russia between the ministers of Economy a few days ago with the aim to expand economic ties of both countries. Summarizing the events, regional forums and other traditional events, he said that during the last 5 years 40 events have already been held and subsequent one will be the 7th forum, which will be organized in Azerbaijan till the end of the year.
Niyazi Safarov then touched upon the economic successes of our country for the last 10 years, adding that GDP growth increased by 2.3 times, government budget by 8.3, non-oil sector by 2.3 and strategic currency reserves by 16.3. Plus, share of the non-oil sector in GDP reached 69.3%.
It was noted that strong legal base has been established between two countries and 170 agreements have been signed, of which more than 50 cover economic sphere. Russia is one of Azerbaijan’s main trade partners. Last year the trade turnover between the countries was $19 billion. Nearly 600 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan. Mutually, Russian companies have invested $3 billion in Azerbaijan’s economy and fulfill the government order worth 69.5 million in manat, while Azerbaijani businessmen have more than a billion dollars investment in Russia.
In the forum, it was also stated that Azerbaijan’s business and investment climate protects foreign investments and investor interests which is the main indicator of favorable ‘doing business’ atmosphere. More than 6 thousand companies with foreign capital have been established in Azerbaijan and more than $220 billion have been invested in our economy so far, of which $20 billion were the last year’s share.
Russian Governor of Yaroslavl Region Sergei Yastrebov spoke about successful improvement of Azerbaijan-Russia economic relations, mentioning the increased trade turnover between countries. In this regard, the events held in participation with business circles have a significant contribution to the developing atmosphere, the governor added and Azerbaijani businessmen were invited to take advantage of business opportunities in Yaroslavl.
The head of ‘Delovaya Rossiya’ Business Association Aleksei Repkin talked about potentials and favorable opportunities offered by both countries and urged entrepreneurs to further contribute to deepening cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.
The president of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Rufat Mammadov and the head of Agency for Strategic Initiatives of Russian Federation to promote new projects Andrei Nikitin gave detailed presentations on business and investment climates in Azerbaijan and Russia, respectively. In the framework of the forum, Memorandums of Understanding have been signed between AZPROMO and “Delovaya Rossiya”, AZPROMO and “UK Victoria Estates” JSC, AZPROMO and “Bank VTB” (Azerbaijan). Moreover, “VITA-A” LLC (Azerbaijan), “Azerbaijan Investment Company” JSC and “R-Farm” (Russia) signed Protocol of Intention on establishment of modern pharmaceuticals production in Azerbaijan in accordance with international standards.
The event continued with B2B meetings among business people.