Azernews.Az

By Sara Israfilbayova

The project on "Enhancing the competitiveness of the non-oil industry in Azerbaijan" has been launched with financing of the European Union (EU) and support of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

This project will give impetus to the diversification of the economy, which is number one priority in the country, Deputy Economy Minister Niyazi Safarov said at the presentation ceremony held on September 20.

He went on to say that thanks to the successful industrialization policy of recent years, hundreds of industrial enterprises based on modern technologies have been operating in the country, new competitive and export-oriented innovative industries have been created.

Safarov added that the country’s export potential has significantly increased, while import dependence has decreased.

Representative of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Jeroen Willems, in turn, stated that the goal is to support the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry in Azerbaijan and the strengthening of public-private partnership.

Deputy Director of the Department of Entrepreneurship Policy of the Economy Ministry Jeyhun Isayev, in turn, spoke about the taken measures to develop the private sector, stressing the importance of these measures in terms of economic diversification.

Latvian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Juris Maklakovs, who addressed the event, said that the newly-launched project is important first of all for expanding cooperation between the two countries.

Maklakovs further hailed the bilateral relations, stressing that the cooperation develops in several areas.

Though the role of the oil sector was leading in the speedy economical development of Azerbaijan over the past decade, the non-oil sector has becomes important in the general economical growth in past years.

The non-oil sector today accounts for around 65 percent of the national economy. The non-oil sector of economy grew 2.4 percent in the first quarter of 2017.

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