Jabbarov: Operating in Azerbaijan gives firms access to wider regional markets

Operating in Azerbaijan provides companies with the opportunity to enter broader regional markets, Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov stated at the Azerbaijan-Slovakia business forum in Baku, Report informs.

"From a policy perspective, we do not hesitate to encourage our economic entities to invest. While attracting investment is our first priority, our main goal is to raise knowledge, skills, and technological capacity so that new products can be produced competitively within Azerbaijan's economy," he noted.

The minister explained that the country uses various tools to achieve this goal and applies a risk-sharing approach: "We have development institutions such as the Azerbaijan Entrepreneurship Development Fund, which acts as a financial investor. It takes on equity risks as a minority shareholder, thereby ensuring the development and modernization of our economic environment. At the same time, we benefit from existing joint investment funds, whose number continues to grow, with mandates to invest both in Azerbaijan and across the region."

Jabbarov also pointed out that currently there are joint investment funds with Kazakhstan, the UAE, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and in each of these funds Azerbaijan holds a minimum capital share of 55 percent: "This truly represents a complete ecosystem available to you – to identify and seize opportunities across various sectors."

Focusing on industrial development, the minister highlighted that sectors with the greatest potential for economic growth and attractiveness for private capital have been prioritized.

"We implement this through relevant state programs. These are important both in terms of the economic profile of Slovak enterprises and the development directions of Azerbaijan's economy. For industrial production components, we apply the plug-and-play principle in special industrial development zones. I would like to highlight the Alat Free Economic Zone, which is the jewel of the industrial zone concept, primarily targeting exports and access to regional markets. Alat is the name of the port in Baku. By mid-next year, an international airport will be operational as part of the free economic zone, railway connections already exist, and it will serve as a true hub for cargo flows from Central Asia and China to the West, the Black Sea, Türkiye, Europe, and in the opposite direction," he said.