Upon the organization of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of Azerbaijan Republic (ASK), Executive Director of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication Vusal Gasimli had a meeting with entrepreneurs. More than 100 entrepreneurs have joined the meeting on “The Role of the Entrepreneurship in the Economic Development” and discussed the current state of the business climate in our country.

Evaluating the meeting as an example of public-private dialogue, Vusal Gasimli said that the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Azerbaijan has stopped and economic growth will be restored by the middle of the year. “In the first four months of this year, the non-oil industry grew by 16.5 percent, agriculture by 2.3 percent, retail trade by 0.1 percent, and information and communication services by 3.8 percent. There are taken activities to restore economic growth in tourism, transport, catering, construction, and other areas in the future. The work carried out in Azerbaijan on fiscal and monetary policy, improving the business environment, access to foreign markets, human capital development, corporate governance, access to finance, public procurement, simplification of tax and customs administration is aimed at accelerating economic growth. The prospect of liberating Karabakh from occupation and opening regional communications has created extra opportunities for our economic development. Public-private dialogue is important for continuous identification of the main challenges of the economy and cooperation in solving problems. The organization of entrepreneurs, the formation of a new business model and business culture, and the application of digital solutions and the green growth principles play an important role in economic development,” said V.Gasimli.

President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organisations of Azerbaijan Republic Mammad Musayev noted that the favorable business environment created under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev is the basis for the rapid development of entrepreneurship. As he told, “It is an honor to participate in the economic development of the country that has achieved the victory and liberated its land from the occupation”. M. Musayev also mentioned the opportunities for organizing entrepreneurs, increasing financial accessibility in the development of regions, enlarging the competitiveness of financial institutions, expanding financial instruments, and replacing some imported products with local production. Giving information about the opportunities to use the existing platforms of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs Organisations of Azerbaijan for public-private dialogue, Musayev noted the contribution of the development of business organizations to overall economic progress.

Head of the Legal and Social Partnership Department of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs Organisations of Azerbaijan Khagan Hummatzadeh stressed the need for strong regional and business associations and said that bilateral platforms work more constructively in public-private partnerships.

Kh.Hummatzadeh noted that among the common issues mentioned in the letters sent to the Confederation were the ones related to the Tax Code, customs procedures, especially VAT differentiation, and the net cost of production in production-oriented enterprises.

Vice President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs Organisations of Azerbaijan (ASK) Vugar Abbasov briefed on the activities of bilateral cooperation platforms. He briefed the participants on the issues discussed at the Cooperation Council between the State Customs Committee and the ASK, as well as the results of recent monitoring. "93% of the 214 respondents involved in the monitoring were engaged in imports. This shows that import operations are still high. Of course, it is easier to trade the final product. Therefore, support should be given to companies engaged in production," said Abbasov.

Chairman of the ASK Working Commission on Tourism and Services Ruslan Guliyev spoke on tourism, ASK Vice President Jala Hajiyeva on "Financial accessibility of business entities", Chairman of the ASK Commission on Innovations and Digital Technologies Elchin Aliyev on "The role of Azerbaijan’s business in the development of innovations."

After, there were held discussions and a question-and-answer session that were moderated by ASK Vice President Vugar Zeynalov. During their speeches, Chairman of the Women's Entrepreneurship Development Association in Azerbaijan Sakina Babayeva, Director of the Bank Training Center Javanshir Abdullayev, Director of Neon Company Arif Hasanov, representative of TITAN Group Telman Abbasov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Quality Association Samir Novruzlu, Director of TUNA LLC Rashid Chulagov, and Chairman of the Public Union for the Study of Economic Resources Ruslan Atakishiyev made their proposals on such issues as the favorable business environment in our country, contributions of entrepreneurship to economic development, Islamic banking, competition mechanism, SME development, tax and customs legislation, state support for business, international relations, industrial parks, public-private partnership, and business development in the regions 

At the end of the meeting, it was decided to conduct meetings of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication and National Confederation of Entrepreneurs Organisations of Azerbaijan in the future for discussing particular issues and preparing appropriate proposals.