TODAY.AZ / Business

Minister: IDB allocates nearly $1B for projects in Azerbaijan [UPDATE / PHOTO]

08 December 2016 [14:18] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Amina Nazarli

The International Investment Conference, aiming to present and showcase the recent opportunities and key challenges to do business in Azerbaijan was held in Baku on December 8 with participation of influential Arab investors.

The conference with major focus on the first and the largest event of this kind in Azerbaijan brought together over 200 representatives and heads of government agencies, local and foreign companies from 24 countries.

Organized by the Islamic Corporation for Development of the Private Sector (ICD), IDB Group Business Forum, Azerbaijan Investment Company and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), the conference addressed topics of common interest to identify concrete ways and effective solutions to support investments and private sector development in Azerbaijan.

Being part of the Islamic world and sharing the progressive heritage and spiritual values of Islamic civilization, Azerbaijan attaches great importance to developing relations with the Islamic countries, and the Gulf states in particular.

Alongside with very strong political ties, these countries have numerous opportunities for expanding economic cooperation.

Speaking at the event the country’s Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said that IDB has allocated nearly $1 billion for the implementation of 18 projects in Azerbaijan.

Mustafayev said that 14 of 18 projects have already been implemented in Azerbaijan, and four projects are in the process of implementation.

Regarding activity of the ICD, which is part of the IDB Group in Azerbaijan, the minister noted that since the beginning of cooperation, the agency has invested about $130 million in projects implemented in Azerbaijan’s private sector.

Mustafayev also urged businessmen to cooperate with the Caspian International Investment Company (CIIC), one of the shareholders of which is the ICD.

He added that the company hasn’t fully used its capital and entrepreneurs can take advantage of this opportunity to submit their projects for funding to the CIIC.

Currently, the company is implementing six projects, Mustafayev noted.

During the meeting, Mustafayev also spoke about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict -- one of the most tragic conflicts in the history of the 20th century that affected the destiny of millions.

The minister thanked Islamic countries for support to Azerbaijan's fair position on the conflict, adding that they always demanded the occupier to leave the Azerbaijani lands.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

In turn, Director General of the ICD Khaled Al-Aboodi said that the Cooperation supports the economic reforms being implemented in Azerbaijan.

"We are ready to help the government increase investment in the country, to improve the quality of products produced in the country, to provide entrepreneurs access to new technologies and markets," he said, adding that they are also interested creating in joint ventures.

The ICD is ready to share its experience with Azerbaijan in spheres such as capital markets, designing and providing exit businesses to financial resources, according to Al-Aboodi.

In addition to our investment, we can also help attract foreign investors to Azerbaijan. The government is committed to improving the investment climate in the country, and these measures will help to develop the economy and make it more sustainable," he said.

Al-Aboodi also proposed to hold a conference on an annual basis in order to attract more investors to Azerbaijan.

During the event, the Baku International Sea Trade Port and the ICD signed a memorandum of understanding.

The main goal of the memorandum is to study potential capacity of the port and the free trade zone (FTZ) in the Alat township, as well as the opportunities to attract private sector to the process of creating the free trade zone.

ICD will be the second international organization engaged for consultations within the framework of a FTZ. Earlier, in September, Azerbaijan and Dubai Port World, one of the world's largest port operators, signed an agreement for the provision of consulting services for the creation of a FTZ.

Measures on creation of a free trade zone type special economic area covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Baku’s Garadagh district were confirmed by a presidential decree on March 17, 2016.

Creation of FTZ in Azerbaijan around the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat settlement is a project with a great future, as it's good opportunity for attracting cargo traffic and investments to Azerbaijan.












URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/156748.html

Print version

Views: 1603

Connect with us. Get latest news and updates.

Recommend news to friend

  • Your name:
  • Your e-mail:
  • Friend's name:
  • Friend's e-mail: