Baku, Azerbaijan, May 1
Trend:
Creation of Houses of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises will expand the range of services rendered to the enterprises in Azerbaijan, said Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mammadov made the remarks in Baku during the presentation of the SMEs House project, Trend reports on May 1.
"Earlier, the first meeting of the Coordination Group consisting of plenipotentiaries of the state agencies was arranged. The Group operates under the Agency for the Development of SMEs,” he added.
“At the meeting, effective discussions were held,” Mammadov said. “It was recommended to improve the coordination of the policy of developing SMEs and address issues related to the creation of SMEs Houses. I think that joint cooperation within this format will make a significant contribution to the implementation of the course of reforms announced by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev."
“The development of the SMEs sector has become a special sphere of the state policy for the development of modern economy, to which particular importance is attached,” he said.
"The development strategy being implemented under the leadership of the president has always focused on the development of SMEs sector in the country. which demonstrates the trend of sustainable development,” Mammadov said. "Systemic measures in this direction have been implemented within the state programs adopted over the past years.”
“Significant results are achieved as a result of important measures such as the creation of a legal framework for entrepreneurship development and the use of modern organizational models supporting this work,” he said. “Moreover, the private sector has taken an important position in the development of the non-oil sector, employment and foreign trade.”
“The role of entrepreneurs has grown in the society,” Mammadov added. “Entrepreneurs have become an active force supporting the course of economic reforms in Azerbaijan."
Mammadov stressed that there is a big potential in the country’s economy in the sphere of growth of the sector of small and medium businesses.
"Sustainable development priorities have put forward new requirements for this sector and this must be taken into account,” he said. “The creation of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the documents signed by the president to ensure its activity testifies to the attention paid to this sector and cover the issues that will lead to the fundamental changes in the development of the SME sector.”
“The mission of the agency is to improve the efficiency of the SME regulation system and sustainable development of SME sector on the basis of the protection of the interests of business entities,” Mammadov added.
“The main task of the agency is to turn the structure into a carrier of such an important mission as a friend of an entrepreneur,” he said. “Despite the short time from the date of its establishment, the agency carried out important measures aimed at the realization of this mission, the fulfillment of the president’s important tasks and started to implement a number of strategic projects.”
Mammadov added that the new bill “On the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses”, prepared to strengthen the legislative framework for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, was an important initiative in terms of creating the legal foundations of this sector at the first stage.