Baku hosts Azeri-Belarusian business forum

An Azerbaijani-Belarusian business forum started in Baku on Friday. A 15-people strong delegation from Belarus led by First Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Food Nadezhda Kotkovets is attending the two-day event organized by the Azerbaijan Economic Development Ministry and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO). The Azerbaijani side is represented by government officials, the Azerbaijan Investment Company, AZPROMO and representatives of 30 companies.

The sides are focusing on prospects for imports and exports of foodstuffs. Belarus is interested in selling meat and dairy products to Azerbaijan as well as purchasing fruits and vegetables. The two countries plan to set up a joint venture for the purpose in the future.

Belarusian representatives said that to develop agriculture, the population has to move back to rural areas. Housing is being built in this country to encourage citizens to settle there and granted to them under 40-year loans disbursed with the 2% annual interest rate. Moreover, training sessions are being organized for agriculture workers.

Azerbaijani Deputy Minister for Economic Development Niyazi Safarov told journalists that the forum is chiefly attended by representatives of companies operating in the field of processing agricultural produce, which is not by mere chance.

“Ensuring food safety is one of the priorities in the Azerbaijani government’s economic policy. First of all, ensuring the production of high-quality goods is part of these efforts,” Safarov said, adding that the government has been working hard to achieve this goal.

Safarov cited the potential for boosting the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Belarus. “We can’t say that bilateral commodities turnover is at the desired level. But overall, the development and structure of our relations shows that there is potential for increasing the figure.”*