Orkhan Mammadov: Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan dialogue yielding real results

Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan is developing in many areas, including small and medium entrepreneurship.

Report informs that this was stated by Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBIA), during the panel session Azerbaijan - Uzbekistan: Vector of Economic Partnership organized within the framework of the IV Tashkent International Investment Forum.

According to Mammadov, since the last forum, the agency has continued its active work towards deepening relations between the business circles of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan: "Our cooperation is developing in two directions - business support and institutional partnership. Thus, this year, with the support of KOBIA and within the framework of cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, we supported the organization of a business mission of the Azerbaijani delegation to Tashkent and other cities. The mission included approximately 40 representatives from various economic sectors of Azerbaijan. The peculiarity of this mission is that many entrepreneurs already had experience of cooperation with their Uzbek colleagues. Some are implementing projects on site, and one of them has opened a store in Tashkent in the beauty sector, selling and servicing aesthetic medical equipment and dental technology."

He emphasized that this shows that the dialogue has already moved to a practical level and is yielding real results: "Based on such positive experience, it can be said that business missions provide entrepreneurs not only with the opportunity to get acquainted with market characteristics but also to establish sustainable business relationships. The sectors include construction, tourism, logistics, food products, textiles, ICT, advertising, accounting services, etc. Such visits contribute to increasing B2B potential and a deeper understanding of the business environment."

The chairman emphasized that work on supporting Uzbek companies in Azerbaijan also continues: "Since December 2023, the Uzbekistan Trade House has been operating in Baku with the support of KOBIA. Its activities are aimed at increasing the presence of Uzbek products in Azerbaijan and finding reliable partners. We evaluate this mechanism as an entry point for Uzbek products to access regional and European markets through Azerbaijan."