BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 14. A decision was made to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (AZPROMO) and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), which is part of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) group, to determine the legal basis for future cooperation between AZPROMO and ICIEC, Trend reports.
According to AZPROMO, the meeting with ICIEC delegation cast light on an exchange of views on cooperation to increase non-primary exports and attracting investments.
Besides, the agency's Acting Executive Director Yusif Abdullayev informed about the activities of AZPROMO, mechanisms for promoting exports and investments, including the approval of the National Export Strategy and steps taken to expand the geography of exports.
Abdullayev noted that as part of the support measures provided to exporters, close partnerships have been established with various international and foreign institutions, especially the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and related institutions in Türkiye.
At the same time, he noted that AZPROMO is currently working on creating "eximbank" instruments (export-import) in Azerbaijan.
Besides, during the meeting, Business Development Manager of ICIEC Oguz Aktuna informed about the activities of the institution he represents and noted that in order to stimulate exports and inflow of foreign direct investment in Azerbaijan, the corporation can cooperate with the country in various fields (public-private partnership, transport and logistics, telecommunications, health and educational), as well as in providing insurance and reinsurance solutions.
The IsDB group maintains strong relations with Azerbaijan and aims to contribute to its socio-economic development. The group has approved financing for projects in Azerbaijan with a total amount of $1.2 billion. The portfolio includes $956 million in financing from IsDB, $120.2 million approved by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), $83.4 million in trade operations from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), and $19.4 million in other funds and operations of the IsDB group.
Additionally, ICIEC provided $92.5 million for business insurance and $75.5 million for new insurance obligations to Azerbaijan.