Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.9
By Sara Israfilbayova - Trend:
As of today, Poland has invested $20.4 million in the economy of Azerbaijan, Elnara Mammadova, head of the Foreign Trade Office of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) in Baku, told Trend.
Mammadova noted that Azerbaijan, in turn, has invested $10 million in the Polish economy.
Mammadova noted that 18 Polish companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan in the fields of services, industry, trade etc.
“They operate mainly in the fields of services, industry, trade and other areas,” she said. “At the same time, solid legal framework has been created for bilateral cooperation, about 50 bilateral documents were signed between the two countries, including important documents such as those on investment promotion and mutual protection, elimination of double taxation and economic cooperation.”
She noted that according to the Central Statistical Office of Poland, the trade turnover between Poland and Azerbaijan amounted to $95 million in 2018.
She added that $81 million accounts for Polish exports (an increase of 12%) and $14 million for imports from Azerbaijan (an increase of 6%).
“Of course, this growth is evaluated positively, but, given the existing potential, the main goal is to further increase the volume of trade and diversify its structure,” Mammadova said.
The Polish Investment and Trade Agency was established in 2003 as a result of the merger of the State Agency for Foreign Investment and the Polish Press Agency. In 2017, the agency was renamed to the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and joined the group of the Polish Development Fund.
The agency’s mission is to increase the flow of foreign direct investment in Poland, as well as expand the scope of activities of Polish entrepreneurs abroad. The agency operates both in Poland and abroad through trade offices around the world.
Over the past two years, 70 foreign trade offices have been created.