16.09.2022 Shusha / Karabakh
The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) and Turkic Chamber of Commerce and Industry President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Azerbaijan, whose economy is developing rapidly, offers attractive business and investment opportunities at the Turkic Business World Forum, which includes businesspeople from Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Hungary.
Hisarcıklıoğlu, stating
that after the Second Karabakh War, a great opportunity for permanent peace and
tranquility emerged in the region, continued as follows: “Together with our
Azerbaijani brothers, we, as the Turkic world, are ready to do our part for the
development of the region and the strengthening of peace. We are here once
again for this message of cooperation and support. Now it is up to us to make
Karabakh and Shusha a shining star like Baku and other Azerbaijani cities.”
Emphasizing that Karabakh
should be made a center of attraction from agriculture to tourism, food,
industry to informatics, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the Zangezur Corridor, which
will connect Nakhchivan and Baku, will make great contributions to the
development of trade.
Hisarcıklıoğlu,
reminding that as the Turkic world, they have an economic size of 1.1 trillion
dollars, a foreign trade volume of 560 billion dollars and a population of 160
million, said, “These figures alone show how we can turn into a great global
power when we come together. To mobilize this power, we must first increase the
economic integration between us. This will be possible with more trade,” he
said.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said
that in order to increase trade, preferential and free trade agreements should
be signed between countries, an arbitration facility at international standards
should be provided to attract investors and customs crossings should be
accelerated, and said: “We should use a very important and less costly transit
point such as the Caspian Sea more actively. We need to start the construction
of the Trans-Caspian Natural Gas Pipeline as soon as possible. We should also
remove the transit quotas for each other. Brothers do not put quotas on each
other. More trade is driven by more entrepreneurs and a stronger private
sector. We also need strong chambers to develop entrepreneurship and the
private sector in our countries. Türkiye has significant achievements and
experience in this regard. We are ready to share them with you. Please let us
coordinate our chamber reform efforts. TOBB is also ready to mobilize all its
opportunities in this regard. Everything is for our brothers.”
- Other speakers
Azerbaijani Minister of
Agriculture Inam Kerimov stated that the new roads built in the regions
liberated from occupation will expand Azerbaijan's logistics capabilities, and
friendly and brotherly countries will also benefit from these opportunities.
Pointing to the agricultural and investment opportunities of Karabakh and the
Eastern Zangezur region, Karimov said, “The possibilities of cooperation with
foreign investors are myriad. I call on business people to evaluate real
investment opportunities.”
Organization of Turkic
States (TDT) Secretary General Baghdad Amreyev said that he is confident that
the Turkic states will cooperate in the reconstruction of Karabakh, which has
been occupied and destroyed for 30 years. Amreyev stated that the region has
great potential and that this route can be used by TDT member countries after
the opening of the Zangezur Corridor and said, “Today, we are together in
Shusha to show that I will take part in the reconstruction and reconstruction
of Karabakh.”
Azerbaijani Deputy
Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov also referred to the industrial potential of
the regions liberated from occupation and the industrial parks established
here, calling on businessmen to invest.
Chairman of the
National Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Azerbaijan (ASK) Mammad Musayev
thanked the businessmen of brotherly countries who showed their will in the construction
of Karabakh on behalf of Azerbaijani businessmen.
Orhan Mammadov,
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Agency for the Support of Small and
Medium Entrepreneurship (SME), stated that productive investment opportunities
were provided for both domestic and foreign businesspeople in the regions
liberated from occupation. Mammadov reported that 1300 companies have applied
for investment in the areas liberated from the occupation, 460 of which are
foreign companies from about 40 different countries.
After the opening
speeches, the forum continued with the panel titled “Investment opportunities
in Karabakh and the Eastern Economic Region” and bilateral business meetings.