Azerbaijan proposes measures to deepen economic integration within TCCI

Azerbaijan has presented a number of concrete proposals to deepen economic integration within the framework of the Union of Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI), Vice President of the Azerbaijan Confederation of Entrepreneurs Vugar Zeynalov told journalists at an extraordinary meeting of TCCI heads in Astana, Report's Kazakhstan bureau informs.

According to him, one of the main issues is the institutional development of the Union.

"During the period when we held the chairmanship, we saw that decisions adopted were often implemented slowly. One of the reasons is the lack of a permanent office and financing for the Union itself. Without these, many initiatives are delayed," Zeynalov said.

He called the Zangazur Corridor the "second important area." According to him, Azerbaijan has already invested significant funds in developing the relevant infrastructure, but unified rules among the countries of the Turkic world need to be agreed upon for the route to operate fully. This particularly concerns the unification of customs procedures, certification standards and tariffs.

"If countries do not agree on common standards, the development of this route will become difficult," he noted.

Another proposal from the Azerbaijani side was the mutual recognition of digital signatures.

According to Zeynalov, without this, electronic commerce platforms being created will not be able to operate at full capacity.

"If countries do not recognize each other's digital signatures, platforms such as Caravanserai and other digital marketplaces will effectively remain showcases. Mutual recognition of electronic signatures is necessary for companies to conclude fully valid contracts," he emphasized.

In addition, the Azerbaijani side proposed developing a unified business environment index within the Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry Union.

According to Zeynalov, such an indicator would make it possible to measure the level of economic integration between countries, assess progress in individual areas and identify sectors where cooperation is not developing actively enough.

He said that the results of the index could also be used by the heads of state of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States when assessing the effectiveness of integration processes.