BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 30. The Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is preparing to launch new projects in Azerbaijan, Director of the LCCI's EU Projects Department Liga Sičeva told Trend.
"There are always opportunities to improve the current trade relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan and expand the business cooperation, and there is significant potential for this.
Overall, the trends are positive. In 2019, fewer than 100 Latvian companies were working with Azerbaijan, and by 2023, their number had increased by about 30 percent. Among them are logistics companies, food industry enterprises, IT companies, and representatives from other sectors.
We also see prospects for organizations and businesses working in 'green' technologies, ICT, education, design, healthcare, certification, and other industries," she said.
According to her, trade relations between Latvia and Azerbaijan have great potential, as the two countries share a partially common history and have a strong mutual understanding.
"Latvia, as a member of the European Union, can share best European practices with Azerbaijan while also learning from the country’s successful experiences. Azerbaijan and the region, in general, are of great interest to us from a business perspective.
In the framework of the LEF Network Azerbaijan project, we collaborate not only with Azerbaijan but also with Estonia and Finland. This project, funded by the EU’s Inter-Central Baltic Program, is unique in that it brings together four countries to support exports. The project lasts three years, and we are now nearing the end of the second year. The final year will be 2025.
As part of the project, we organize mutual trade missions: Latvian, Estonian, and Finnish companies visit Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijani companies come to us," she added.
Sičeva noted that each mission includes 15 companies, making the delegations quite substantial.
"The goal of the missions is to help businesses find the right partners for product distribution, sales, joint production, and raw material supplies. We are also looking for new sources of financing and preparing to launch new projects after the end of the current year, in 2025. We are open to cooperation with Azerbaijani business organizations," emphasized the department director.
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