The first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Business Council was held
The first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Business Council was organized by the Azerbaijan Entrepreneurs Confederation today. The meeting was attended by the President of the Azerbaijan Entrepreneurs Confederation Mammad Musayev, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan Adham Ikramov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Uzbekistan to Azerbaijan Bakhrom Ashrafkhanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan Huseyn Guliyev, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development Ulugbek Azamov and Director of the Investment Promotion Department of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation, Zohrab Gadirov, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Small and Medium Business Development Agency Rufat Atakishiyev, Deputy Director of the Uzbek Agency for Pharmaceutical Industry Development Alisher Temirov and entrepreneurs.
Opening the meeting, President of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan Mammad Musayev said that the current political stability in our countries creates the main favorable conditions for the development of our economy. According to him, the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenian separatists has long created a potential risk for the region.
On behalf of the country’s entrepreneurs, Musayev thanked President Ilham Aliyev and our Glorious Army for the Great Victory gained as a result of Azerbaijan’s counter-offensive, noting that more than one million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs will return to their native lands. “During the occupation, a large amount of property belonging to Azerbaijani citizens, as well as the state, was destroyed. At present, the process of withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories is underway. Illegal settlements have taken place in Azerbaijan in violation of the Geneva Conventions, and Armenian separatists, who took refuge in the homes of Azerbaijanis, continue to commit acts of vandalism. When leaving the lands, Armenians destroy rare trees, flora and fauna, and burn houses. The amount of damage is estimated at billions, “Musayev said.
Noting that the trade turnover between the two countries will reach $ 82 million in 2019, the President of the Confederation said that the opening of the Nakhchivan corridor will create effective transit links between the South Caucasus and Turkey and the Central Asian Turkic states. Noting that Azerbaijani entrepreneurs have a great responsibility for the socio-economic development of the liberated lands, Musayev called on Uzbek investors to invest in Karabakh.
Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan Adham Ikramov wished success to the first meeting of the Business Council and thanked President Ilham Aliyev for receiving them within the Baku meeting of the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry on November 2. “Azerbaijan has managed to resolve the conflict and the phrase” Karabakh is Azerbaijan “has already been accepted by the whole world. We are happy that the truth finds its place, and it is a great honor for us.”
Thanking Musayev for his efforts to establish the Business Council, Ikramov said he welcomed entrepreneurs from Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan. According to him, despite the pandemic, 65 enterprises with Azerbaijani capital have been operating in Uzbekistan over the past 8-9 months. He said that Uzbekistan can enter Europe through Azerbaijan, and in this way Azerbaijan is located in a particularly important geopolitical space. “Uzbekistan is always a friend of Azerbaijan and stands by it,” he said, informing the participants about Uzbek entrepreneurs represented in the Council.
The moderator of the event, Vugar Zeynalov, said that the Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry had decided to open the first Turkic Chamber of Commerce in Baku, noting that a new era of more intensive cooperation has begun in Azerbaijani-Uzbek business relations.
At the meeting of the Council, a “presentation on the economic potential of Karabakh” was presented and questions related to the pharmaceutical, tourism, investment opportunities, tax and customs systems of both countries were answered.