Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 3 / Trend N. Ismayilova /
On Feb. 1 the Azerbaijani Economic Development Ministry held an extended meeting to fulfill the orders given within the enlarged meeting of the State Commission Against Corruption, held on Jan. 27 under the chairmanship of head of the Presidential Administration Ramiz Mehdiyev, the ministry said.
Economic Development Minister Shahin Mustafayev said at the meeting that the plan of the Ministry's actions for 2011 must be executed within the plan of actions to implement a national strategy to combat corruption and increase transparency in 2007-2011 and to achieve full transparency in fulfilling its obligations by the ministry's bodies, working directly with entrepreneurs.
The State Service for Antimonopoly Policy and Consumer Protection must prevent the facts of an artificial price increase, intensify activities to develop the sphere for free competition, ensure full protection of consumer rights, and strengthen control to eliminate possible negative situations.
He said that representatives of the Economic Development Ministry must not only formally present but protect the interests of entrepreneurs while checking business entities by other state agencies.
"The control must be strengthened to clarify the terms and rules of the issuance of special permits and certificates of origin, and to fulfill the import and export agreements. It is necessary to analyze information on licensing coming from state agencies, and prepare proposals to remove the revealed deficiencies," Mustafayev said.
The National Entrepreneurship Support Fund must increase the transparency of its activity, carry out additional activities to enhance access of entrepreneurs to financial resources, and submit new proposals in this area. The procurement, made by the ministry, must fully comply with the law. It must be fully transparent. The participation of representatives of the ministry in tenders of other agencies must not be of formal nature, the minister said.
The instructions were given to prepare proposals for improving the business environment and enterprise development, and for strengthening public support for entrepreneurship in the following areas:
∙ improving the legislative acts regulating entrepreneurial activity,
∙ directing the activities of state control, primarily to strengthen the protection of entrepreneurs' rights, and to suppress unwarranted inspections
∙ improving the procedures for issuing special permits (licenses)
∙ conducting inventory of documents submitted to obtain permits for business activities and legislation on procedures for their issuance, removing all the parallels in this field, and preparing regulations to issue permission
∙ creating new organizational and economic models of entrepreneurship development, including industrial parks and business incubators,
∙ preparing specific criteria to ensure the development of small and medium enterprises with international experience, and strengthening measures for state support of small and medium entrepreneurship
∙ implementing new corporate standards to improve efficiency and transparency of the activity of public companies and joint-stock companies, and
∙ attracting young people to entrepreneurship, and providing enlightenment, training, and increased opportunities for access to concessional finance resources,
∙ implementing the measures of state control and wide use of information technologies to minimize contact between entrepreneurs and state agencies.
Following the meeting, the minister gave specific instructions to comply with strict control over implementing these activities, ensuring quality, and fulfilling them in the shortest possible time.