AmCham Members met with the Representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan Republic

On December 9, 2021, a meeting was held between the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (AmCham) and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The honorable speaker of the meeting was Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Elnur Aliyev. 

The meeting featured presentation of AmCham's key policy document - “White Paper” 2021 edition containing recommendations and suggestions for improving the business and investment climate in Azerbaijan. The event was attended by representatives of the public and private sectors who exchanged views on issues and proposals reflected in the document, supporting the development of the business environment and sustainable reforms in the country.

Opening the event, Executive Director of AmCham Azerbaijan Ms. Gulnara Aslanbeyli welcomed the participants and emphasized sustained activity of the Chamber on improving business environment in Azerbaijan, as well as significance of the established fruitful dialogue and successful cooperation with government institutions in this direction. She also noted that discussion of the recent recommendations proposed in White Paper will be held during the meeting. 

Afterwards, President of AmCham Azerbaijan Mr. Nuran Kerimov highlighted the importance of such events in terms of continuing the dialogue between the public and private sectors. Mr. Kerimov noted that the White Paper, as one of AmCham's key policy documents, is developed and submitted to the Azerbaijani government to support various sectors of the local economy. Previous White Papers prepared by AmCham were submitted to the government of Azerbaijan in 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2018 -years. The last edition of the White Paper was prepared in 2021 and submitted to the relevant authorities. "We highly commend the economic reforms carried out in the country in recent years, especially in the direction of the fight against the shadow economy aimed to create a competitive and sustainable non-oil sector. We are witnessing positive results in this area, including the decline in informal employment, and supporting these steps by the government.” - Mr. Kerimov said.

Welcoming the participants, Deputy Minister of Economy Mr. Elnur Aliyev noted that such meetings create a beneficial platform for the exchange of views on the prospects of cooperation between the government and business representatives and expressed his gratitude to AmCham Azerbaijan for this opportunity. 

Deputy Minister of Economy Mr. Elnur Aliyev informed the participants about the measures taken to support the business and investment climate in Azerbaijan during the pandemic and the positive impact of these measures on macroeconomic indicators. It was noted that as a result of the measures taken, the sustainability of business activities and economic growth in 2021 was ensured. Thus, in the first 10 months of this year, real GDP increased by 4.9% to $ 42 million, non-oil GDP increased by 5.9%. During this period, foreign trade turnover increased by 24.7%, exports by 37.7% and non-oil exports by 42%.

Moreover, Mr. Aliyev stressed the importance of developing competitive human capital within the National Socio-Economic Priorities of Azerbaijan, inclusive society and social justice, application of modern technologies, "green" economy and economic revival of our liberated territories in terms of sustainable economic development, and spoke about the work done in this direction. The participants were also informed about the investment opportunities created by the Electronic Credit Platform for Entrepreneurs, Azerbaijan Investment Holding, Alat Free Economic Zone, to further improve the business and investment climate and increase investment attraction.

Furthermore, Vice President of AmCham Nargiz Nasrullayeva-Muduroglu delivered a comprehensive presentation on the recommendations covered in the 2021 edition of the White Paper. She noted that the White Paper and other position documents of AmCham aim to contribute to the development of the economy by reflecting the collective opinion of the members of the Chamber on changes that will further strengthen the business environment in Azerbaijan and the country.

Afterwards, Mr. Jeyhun Mammadov, Chairman of AmCham Tax and Customs Committee, and Mr. Zaur Allahverdizadeh, Chairman of AmCham Legal and Compliance Committee, made comprehensive presentations on recommendations and suggestions on the relevant sectors reflected in the White Paper.

The Deputy Minister said that the recommendations and suggestions proposed in the "White Paper" will be evaluated by the Ministry of Economy.

At the end of the meeting, discussions were held on the issues reflected in the document, opinions and proposals were heard and questions of interest of the business circles were addressed by Deputy Minister of Economy Mr. Elnur Aliyev, Chief of the State Tax Service Mr. Orkhan Nazarli, Deputy Chief of the State Tax Service Ms. Samira Musayeva, Deputy Chief of the State Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control Service Mr.  Mammad Abbasbayli and Executive Director of the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Mr. Tamerlan Taghiyev.

Date
9 December 2021
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