The International Business Forum on “Development of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Black Sea Region” was held on November 2, 2018 by the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations (ASK) and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the event, the President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan, Mammad Musayev said that Azerbaijan was chairing the BSEC Business Council in July this year and the expansion of economic cooperation among the member countries is one of the main goals of the organization. It was stressed that as a result of the successful socio-economic policy of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, sustainable and sustainable economic development, macroeconomic stability, diversification of the economy, development of non-oil sector and regions have been achieved in our country. Mammad Musayev informed about the purposeful steps taken in the direction of development of entrepreneurship and noted the importance of small and medium entrepreneurship in the development of economy.

“At present, our country implements large energy and infrastructure projects such as the Southern Gas Corridor, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars. I believe that the Black Sea countries will benefit from this railway line by increasing the trade turnover, and the expansion of cultural and social relations,” said Musayev.

Deputy Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Niyazi Safarov spoke about the purposeful measures taken in the direction of entrepreneurship development, improvement of business and investment environment in Azerbaijan, reforms carried out, and emphasized that the private sector share in the economy has grown as a result of the implemented measures.

“In order to support entrepreneurship development, inspections in the field of entrepreneurship have been suspended, the system of licenses and permits has been improved, a portal” Licenses and Permits “has been established, a mechanism for promotion of export and investment has been introduced, industrial parks and neighborhoods have been created and promotion of Made in Azerbaijan consistently continues. is built. As a result of implemented measures, the positions of the international rating agencies in our country are constantly improving. It is another indication of the fact that the World Bank Doing Business 2019 report, which has been published in recent days, improves Azerbaijan’s position and is among the top 10 reformers on the 25th place among 190 countries, said the Deputy Minister.

Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of Small and Medium Business Development Agency, subordinated to the Ministry of Economy, said the BSEC Business Council was an effective platform for promoting cooperation between business circles of member countries and emphasized the importance of today’s forum for expanding partnerships between businesses. It was noted that successful reforms are being carried out in Azerbaijan towards the development of small and medium enterprises. Speaking about the activities of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency, Orkhan Mammadov said that the Agency has already created a “SME Friendly Center” in Masalli and currently works on creating “SME Houses”. It was noticed that entrepreneurs will be provided with state-of-the-art services and numerous support measures on the premises of the “KOB House”. At the same time, work is underway to create e-SME Home Portal, which will provide services on a single platform. The head of the agency noted that the organization would operate in close cooperation with entrepreneurs, investors, government agencies and international organizations, and that exchange of innovations in BSEC member countries would be useful.

Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral emphasized the importance of such events in the expansion of cooperation between business circles, and Mehmet Ozcan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vakıf Bank, shared his views on small and medium business support activities and activities of the bank in this field.

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, the National Confederation of Small and Medium Business Development and Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations, as well as the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers’) Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed memorandums of cooperation.

The event continued with panel discussions on “Strengthening cooperation between the Black Sea countries for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, establishing a regional value chain” and “The role of regional energy projects in the non-oil sector development in BSEC member countries”.

Deputy Chairman of the Board of SMEA Nadir Adilov, Head of Turkish-Azerbaijani Business Council Selcuk Akat, Vice-President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs Vugar, speaking at the panel on “Strengthening cooperation between the Black Sea countries for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, creating a regional value chain” Zeynalov, Deputy Chairman of the AIC’s Working Commission on Tourism, Culture and Media Ceyhun Ashurov, Head of Strategic Planning and Development Department of Economic Reform Analysis and Communications Center Ramil Hussein, Head of International Relations Department of Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Virgin Goaga, “Ziraat Bank Azerbaijan Deputy Chairman of the Board Farid Aliyev, Head of Economic Department of the Ministry of Energy Rauf Gurbanov, small and medium business entities expressing their views on expanding relations in the framework of the BSEC, emphasizing that BSEC is a good platform for the establishment and development of relations between business circles.

The business forum ended with B2B meetings.