Germany eyes Azerbaijani industrial parks

Source: AzerNews

The fourth meeting of the Azerbaijani-German high-level working group on trade and investments will be held in Baku in 2014.

A relevant decision was made at the third meeting of the taskforce, held in Berlin on July 17-18, Azerbaijan's Economic Development Ministry said on July 22.

The Azerbaijani side at the meeting was headed by Economic Development Ministry Administration Chief Samir Veliyev, while the German side was represented by Karl-Ernst Brauner, German Federal Vice Minister of Economy and Technology.

The event featured discussions on the current state of economic and trade relations between Azerbaijan and Germany, as well as cooperation in the fields of environmental protection, implementation of twinning projects and vocational education.

Energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, protection of the environment, and internships of Azerbaijani doctors in German hospitals were also discussed, and the sides reached an agreement on several issues.

The event also included presentations on the operation of Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park as well as cooperation between the state property issues committees of Azerbaijan and Germany.

The possibility of German companies' involvement in Azerbaijani industrial parks was mulled as well.

The High-Tech Park was established in Azerbaijan last November to become a territory which has the necessary infrastructure, logistics, management structures for the development of new and high technologies, research in the fields of energy efficiency, space and telecommunications, information technologies and communications.

There are some 105 German companies in Azerbaijan. Moreover, German companies have acted as contractors in 10 investment projects with a total value exceeding 460 million euros.

Azerbaijan-Germany trade turnover amounted to $1.066 billion in the first half of 2013, increasing by 31.3 percent.