30 deals inked to promote ‘Made in Azerbaijan’ brand

As a result of export missions as part of promoting the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand, Azerbaijani companies signed 30 agreements on export of local products, Rufat Mammadov, head of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), said at a press conference in Baku.

“We are already exporting pomegranate juice and hazelnuts to Germany, chicken eggs to Afghanistan, fruit juices to Pakistan,” noted Mammadov.

He added that export of various products to Qatar and Kazakhstan is also being carried out.

AZPROMO head noted that the contracts signed during the export missions are not one-time contracts, but are concluded for a long period and envisage big volumes of export.

Nine export missions have been organized since the beginning of the mechanisms to promote the “Made in Azerbaijan” brand. Three missions were organized in 2016 and six missions – in 2017.

Azerbaijani exporters visited China, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Qatar, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries. Moreover, it is planned to send export missions to China, the UAE, Russia and Saudi Arabia by the end of the year.

Azerbaijan stops capital outflow

Azerbaijan managed to return a part of the capital, the outflow of which occurred after the devaluation of the national currency, said Vusal Musayev, an expert of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication, addressing the Azerbaijan-Germany business forum in Baku.

“After the devaluation of the Azerbaijani manat, entrepreneurs lost some confidence. As a result of this, some big entrepreneurs withdrew their money from Azerbaijan and began to invest in the economy of Turkey and Georgia,” he noted. “Thanks to regulatory measures, we were able to prevent the outflow of investment. Moreover, measures were taken to stimulate exports. As a result, we were able to return a part of the funds from Georgia and Turkey, as well as the confidence of entrepreneurs.”

According to the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan, the volume of foreign investments put in the country’s fixed capital amounted to 6.02 billion manats in January-August 2017 that is 7.9 percent more than in the same period of 2016 (5.58 billion manats). During the period, 87.9 percent (5.29 billion manats) of investments, put in the Azerbaijani economy by other countries and international organizations, accounted for the share of investors from the UK, Turkey, Malaysia, Switzerland, Russia, Iran, the US, Japan, Norway and the Czech Republic.

Customs declaration of goods cheaper in Azerbaijan than in other countries

The cost of customs declaration services in Azerbaijan is one of the lowest in the world, said Chairman of the State Customs Committee Aydin Aliyev addressing an Azerbaijani-German business forum in Baku.

“If we compare with the EurAsEC (Eurasian Economic Community) – from Kazakhstan to Belarus, the cost of accepting documents for customs declaration is $85, while in Azerbaijan the cost of electronic declaration is 30 manats,” noted Aliyev.

He also expressed satisfaction with the fact that Azerbaijan has completely switched to electronic declaration.

Azerbaijan switched to electronic declaration of goods and vehicles on May 4, 2016.

Germany invests $460M in Azerbaijan's non-oil sector

Germany's direct investments in Azerbaijan amounted to $460 million, Azerbaijani Deputy Economy Minister Sahil Babayev said at the Azerbaijan-Germany business forum in Baku.

He added that all those investments were made in the non-oil sector of the Azerbaijani economy.

Babayev said that Azerbaijan's direct investments in Germany amounted to $120 million.

"The amount of Germany’s investments testifies interest in the Azerbaijani non-oil sector,” he said. “Of course, these figures do not reflect all the potential existing between our countries, but I think that the development of trade turnover between our countries will have a positive impact on investments.”

“The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Germany has exceeded $500 million," Babayev said, adding that currently, 200 companies with German capital operate in Azerbaijan.