Azerbaijan, Baku, March 31 /Trend, N.Ismayilova /
The East Invest programme, the EU's € 8.75 million new regional initiative to boost trade and investment in the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood region through support to small and medium size enterprises, will be launched on March 31 in Brussels, the EU said on Wednesday.
A press release from EuropeAid said 85 partners of East Invest, including business support organisations from the EU and its Partner Countries, would agree on the activities work plan at the launch event.
The main objective of this conference is "to promote and offer the audience an insight into the overall working background, the different project activities that will be implemented and the provisional time frame," the press release said.
Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Füle described this programme as "one of several concrete programs that will accompany and support the Eastern Partnership Countries on the road of economic transformation towards economic integration with the EU".
East Invest will seek to develop business networking and multiply exchanges between EU and Eastern Neighbourhood Region public and private organisations, through: encouraging public-private dialogue and promoting consultation of private sector in decision making; facilitating exchange of best practices and fostering partnerships between EU and Eastern Neighbourhood companies; developing the capacity of Eastern Neighbourhood SME support organisations.
Implementation of the project is overseen by Eurochambres, the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The Eastern Partnership Program is the EU initiative under the EU Neighborhood Policy aimed at improving EU relations with six former Soviet countries - Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine and Armenia.