By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

The Azerbaijan-Croatia Business Forum, organized by the Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) with the Economy Ministry support, was held in Baku on October 20.

The forum was attended by officials and representatives of about 20 companies working in the construction, food, ICT and other spheres.

Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Ministry's Director-General for Economic and Development Cooperation Ivana Zivkovic noted that the active participation of businessmen in the event is an indicator of interest in bilateral relations development. The director-general added that the business forum will contribute to expanding cooperation and establishing new ties.

AZPROMO's Head Yusif Abdullayev briefed on the organization's activities, work done for the expansion of cooperation with foreign partners and for the increasing of the investment in the non-oil sector.

Azerbaijan's Agency for Small and Medium-sized Business Development Chairman Orkhan Mammadov spoke about the measures taken to develop SMBs in the country. He noted the Agency's activities in this area, emphasizing the opportunities for cooperation in SMBs field with relevant Croatian institutions and enterprises.

The forum continued with bilateral meetings between businessmen.

The visiting delegation led by the Croatian foreign and European affairs minister is on a visit to Azerbaijan. The Croatian minister was received by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on October 19 and held the joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on October 20.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Croatia amounted to $549.4 million in the first nine months of 2021. In addition, the volume of turnover between the two countries amounted to $473.2 million in 2020.