Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
The Azerbaijani government plans to strengthen the work to lure foreign investments, a source in the government told Trend Feb. 27.
The source noted that new proposals covering not only the luring of investments, but also the expansion of export have been prepared for this purpose. The proposals have been prepared as part of implementation of measures reflected in strategic road maps of Azerbaijan.
“The government wants to give a big momentum to the efforts to promote Azerbaijan as a country attractive for foreign investments. As part of this work, effective measures will be taken to attract foreign investors. We need a certain vision, within which concrete steps will be taken. To say that we are attracting investments from all countries and in all spheres is not only an ambitious but also generally incorrect approach,” the source said.
The strategic road maps are a guide in this regard, however, in this case it is important to give greater priority to certain areas reflected in road maps, the source added.
“It is necessary to prove to potential investors why it is necessary to invest in Azerbaijan, and not in another country. Representatives of relevant state structures hold meetings with investors and explain to them that along with global advantages, such as geographic location, political stability, access to big markets, we have favorable business and investment environment,” added the source.
This is important for investors, because by studying new markets, they pay attention to many factors, from tax policy to the availability of skilled work environment, the source said.
The source also spoke about several difficulties on luring foreign investments.
For example, the agricultural sphere is difficult from the point of view of attracting investments.
“There are certain barriers that prevent investors from investing in the agricultural sector all over the world, not only in Azerbaijan. In particular, this is the inability to obtain land ownership [in Azerbaijan foreign citizens can not become landowners]. Investors are afraid that they may lose the right to use land in the future due to the lack of land ownership,” the source noted.
Another problem, the source said, is connected with the fact that in some cases, foreign investors investing in the agricultural sector exploit the country’s natural resources and in bring small economic benefit.
“For example, investors can lease land in another country, grow various products there, and then deliver it to their home country. It turns out that the country, where they invest, does not obtain much profit. We are not satisfied with this approach. We have a very cautious approach to this issue and when we talk with potential investors, we explain that we do not need the exploitation of our natural resources. We ourselves are able to grow products on our land, we have the resources, but we need experience and new technologies,” the source added.