BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 1. Spain eyes expanded investment ties with Azerbaijan and proposes ‘Boomerang Model’, Amparo López Senovilla, Secretary of State for Trade at Spain's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Business, said in an exclusive interview with Trend, as she attended the Azerbaijan-Spain business forum held in Baku on March 11.
She pointed out that this long-awaited mission was a unique opportunity to enhance relations between Azerbaijan and Spain.
"I am convinced that there are extraordinary prospects to be realized in working and growing together. Along with trade partnerships between our companies, I think that it is essential that we position ourselves as members of a business community that reflects our complementarities and our shared values and aspirations," she said.
Senovilla pointed out that on the one hand, Azerbaijan has undertaken major projects in recent years and an ambitious route towards decarbonization.
"Azerbaijan has led the development of energy infrastructures critical for Europe’s energy security and achieved remarkable improvements in the Middle Corridor. Initiatives such as the Caspian-Europe Green Energy Corridor, the Southern Gas Corridor, and the Caucasus Energy Corridor have placed Azerbaijan as a key strategic partner to Europe’s decarbonization efforts.
On the other hand, Spain is one of the biggest and one of the fastest-growing economies of the European Union. Our country is a global reference in renewable energy, infrastructure, transport, and digitalization, among other sectors. Our geographical location and our historical ties make our country the perfect platform for business with Africa and Latin America. We are eager to develop a strong partnership with Azerbaijan in these as well as in other fields," she explained.
Spanish secretary of state for trade recalled that during this visit a "Memorandum of Understanding regarding Strategic Economic Cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Kingdom of Spain” was signed.
"The purpose of this MOU is to promote cooperation in all strategic economic fields between Azerbaijan and Spain, including cooperation between our respective institutions and the establishment of joint ventures in different areas of cooperation. We will encourage investments and the flow of capital, goods and services. A Strategic Economic Dialogue was established. This Dialogue will be very useful to discuss issues of great importance between the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business of Spain, which I represent," noted Senovilla.
She believes that trade relations between Spain and Azerbaijan, not being negligible (bilateral trade surpassed the billion-euro mark in 2022, for example, but the level was lower in the following years), are far from their potential, considering that Azerbaijan is a strategic partner for Spain as a logistic hub connecting Europe with Asia and also an essential partner and an ally, as far as energy security is concerned.
"Energy should continue to be a key sector in our future economic relations, linked to the green transition in both our countries. We have a very competitive ensemble of Spanish companies in the renewable energy sector that fit very well with the decarbonization plans of the Azerbaijani government. Agroindustry is also an interesting sector, as the recent visit of AGRAGEX (the Spanish Association of Exporters of Agricultural Machinery and Inputs) to Azerbaijan has proved. Railway transport, water treatment, and information and communications technologies are sectors in which Spanish companies excel and are ready to do great things in Azerbaijan. City development is another of our strengths, very well suited to the revitalization of the Karabakh region," said Spanish state secretary for trade.
She noted that more than twenty Spanish companies, headed by representatives of the Chamber of Commerce of Spain and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), were present to participate in the Azerbaijan-Spain business forum.
"From the Spanish point of view, this is a real success. I am sure that this event will be a milestone and a starting point for future bilateral business meetings and trade missions to Spain and Azerbaijan in the next few years. We have great confidence in the capacity of the aforementioned new Strategic Economic Dialogue framework, to boost cooperation in all relevant sectors. Enhanced cooperation between AZPROMO and the Small and Medium Business Development Agency, on the Azerbaijani side, and the Spanish Agency for Trade and Investment (ICEX), CEOE and the Chamber of Commerce of Spain on our side, will also be fundamental to develop new initiatives in many essential fields. We will encourage our Export Credit Agency (CESCE) and the Spanish Company for Development Financing (COFIDES) to act more decisively in order to promote business activities of Spanish companies in Azerbaijan. Our ministry is also eager to support potential projects to be executed by Spanish companies using the financial resources of the Spanish Official Funding – Corporate Internationalization Fund (called FIEM in Spanish), which is a very flexible instrument, able to give financial support to trade and investment operations in favor of public or private Azerbaijani entities," noted López Senovilla.
She went on to add that SOFAZ, the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan, has shown a great deal of confidence in the Spanish economy.
"We are very grateful for this and we hope that Azerbaijani investments in Spain will keep growing as the economic and commercial ties between our two countries increase. We would be delighted to organize a fact-finding trip of SOFAZ to Spain to detect new investment opportunities. We are also very interested in the combination of investments in both directions, the so-called “Boomerang model”. I firmly believe there is great potential to apply this model to Spanish companies. In this sense, we stand ready to explore co-investment opportunities in Spain with the recently created Spanish Government Fund FOCO (Co-investment fund), managed by COFIDES. The aim of FOCO is to unlock the full potential of strategic sectors that contribute to the green and digital transition as well as to the development of new technologies, by co-investing in private companies in pari passu terms with international investors. COFIDES already has experience in supporting investment projects of Spanish companies in Azerbaijan, and will willingly explore co-investment deals with SOFAZ in both directions," Senovilla concluded.