BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 2. Azerbaijan's Shusha hosted a business forum of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Trend's Karabakh bureau reports.
The event was held within the framework of the ECO Week. The forum was jointly organized by the Ministry of Economy, AZPROMO, the Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organization, and the ECO Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The main objective of the Forum was to promote investment and trade between ECO member countries, strengthen cooperation between business circles, and contribute to sustainable economic development.
The event discussed partnership opportunities in food, agriculture, textiles, ICT, tourism, transportation, and the circular economy. There will also be meetings in the formats of “business-to-government” (B2G) and “business-to-business” (B2B).
The forum was an important platform for expanding economic ties in the ECO region.
Addressing the forum, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Elnur Aliyev underlined that Azerbaijan has demonstrated its commitment to the organization as a member of the OECD and has held many international conferences so far.
According to him, Azerbaijan, along with close participation in the ECO conferences, has contributed to the organization's goals.
The Deputy Minister noted that trade turnover between Azerbaijan and ECO members reached $3.5 billion this year.
The Secretary General of ECO, Asad M. Khan, noted at the meeting that a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in joint trade promotion activities among ECO member states is ready to be signed.
He noted that the plan is to increase, through a more structured and collaborative approach, the recognizability of ECO markets and create new commercial linkages in the region.
“We call upon all member states to finalize their internal procedures as soon as possible and proceed with signing when ready,” Asad M. Khan said.
The ECO Secretary General also invited Member States to submit concrete proposals for joint trade promotion activities for 2025 and 2026.
"This is an area where we really need to do more work because networking opportunities are what we lack in our framework. So, these initiatives can be compiled into a calendar of ECO joint trade promotion activities that will be updated annually and serve as a practical tool for coordination between our national trade promotion organizations," he said.
Asad M. Khan also announced that the Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters among ECO Member States has been finalized and is open for signature by the governments.
In turn, the executive director of the Azerbaijani Export and Investment Promotion Agency - AZPROMO, Yusif Abdullayev, announced that AZPROMO provides its support in the implementation of various projects within the framework of the compiled roadmap.
The executive director recalled that Azerbaijan held joint forums with Iran and Pakistan this year:
"Türkiye also implements joint projects with leading business organizations. A Turkish-Azerbaijani business forum was held in Ankara, and a memorandum was signed".
Abdullayev added that today's forum offers ample opportunities to transform the potential within the organization into productivity.
"We must strengthen our cooperation in renewable energy, digital technologies,'' he added.
Subsequently, the forum continued with various panel discussions and sessions.
