EU and Azerbaijan strengthening
economic and trade ties

The EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum, organised by the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, in cooperation with the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) and the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce, aimed at increasing networking and contacts between the EU and Azerbaijan companies, and at discussing jointly with government representatives, the business climate.

Mr. Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, Mr. Lawrence Meredith, Director Neighbourhood East of Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR, European Commission), and Mrs. Malena Mård, Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan joined the inauguration of the Forum.

Head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador Malena Mård, said: "The EU accounts for close to 50% of Azerbaijan's total foreign trade and the EU is the biggest investor in Azerbaijan both in the oil and non-oil sector. The EU-Azerbaijan Business Forum provided an excellent platform to discuss how to further facilitate and increase trade and investment opportunities between EU and Azerbaijan."

Dr. Vusal Gasimli, Executive Director of the Center of Analyses of Economic Reforms and Communication introduced the plenary sessions and deliver the keynote speech on the achievements and prospects of Azerbaijan's economic reforms agenda. This was followed by a discussion in a panel on the same theme, opened by Mr. Sahil Babayev, Deputy Minister of Economy.

In the afternoon, after business-to-business sessions with EU and Azerbaijani companies, the parallel panels focused on: Agriculture and Food, Environmental Technologies, Transport and Logistics, and ICT and E-commerce. The participants exchanged experiences, challenges and opportunities, and established new business relationships.

The participants of the Forum also got familiarized with the results of the second EU Business Climate Report conducted among 100 EU companies operating in Azerbaijan in 2017.