Azerbaijan to establish Competition Research Center

A Competition Research Center will be established in Azerbaijan under the National Action Plan, which also envisages the integration of competition law topics into higher education programs, Elnur Baghirov, Chairman of the State Agency for Antimonopoly and Consumer Market Control under the President of Azerbaijan, said at the 3rd National Competition Forum in Baku, Report informs.

"Identifying competition risks in advance and developing well-founded policy decisions requires not only an effective legal framework, but also a strong scientific and analytical base, professional expertise, and a high competition culture. In this regard, the effective implementation of competition legislation requires both a proper understanding of its principles by businesses and consumers and that decisions on complex market relations be based on reliable data and modern economic analysis methods," he said.

According to Baghirov, the National Action Plan envisages the establishment of a competition research center, improvements in market diagnostics methodologies, and the integration of competition economics and competition law into university curricula.

"I believe that strengthening cooperation with the academic community will make a long-term contribution to both competition policy and specialist training. At the same time, the effectiveness of competition policy depends not only on knowledge and analytical capabilities, but also on market participants' attitude toward legislation and the environment of cooperation between the state and business," he added.