Azernews.Az

Friday March 29 2024

Malena Mard: Roadmaps provide good basis for diversification of economy

8 December 2016 14:38 (UTC+04:00)
Malena Mard: Roadmaps provide good basis for diversification of economy

By Amina Nazarli

The recently approved strategic roadmaps for the development of Azerbaijan’s national economy provide a good basis for reforms and economic diversification, said Malena Mard.

The head of the EU delegation in Baku noted that the Union always discusses the ways to support the diversification of the Azerbaijani economy.

"The EU wants to be a partner of Azerbaijan and support it in the diversification of the economy and reforms. And 12 road maps create very good foundation for this," Mard told Trend.

President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on December 6 endorsing “Strategic road maps for the national economy and main economic sectors”, which will allow define the development goals and priorities and ensure their proper and timely implementation.

The strategic road maps cover almost all sectors of the economy, including, development of the oil and gas industry, the manufacture and processing of agricultural products, the manufacture of small and medium entrepreneurship-level consumer goods, development of heavy industry and machinery, tourism, logistics and trade, vocational education and training, financial services, communication and information technologies and utilities.

Mard recalled the mandate issued for the negotiations between the EU and Azerbaijan on November 14 for the new legal framework of cooperation, which will include many areas.

"We look forward to the start of negotiations next year to be able to promote our trade and investment cooperation. Issuance of this mandate is a very positive step," she emphasized.

The European Council has adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today.

-

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

Loading...
Latest See more