Azernews.Az

By Narmina Mammadova

Small and Medium Business plays an important role in development of the country's economy.

Azerbaijan pays special attention to the development of SMEs and this is a priority area of activity.

The public hearings on the improvement of legislation in the field of entrepreneurship development were held in Azerbaijan’s parliament on November 20.

Chairman of the Board of the Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) , Orhan Mammadov, said that adoption of the Law on Small and Medium Entrepreneurship (SME) in Azerbaijan, along with the definition of an advanced framework document, will contribute to enhancing the role of SMEs in the country's economy and strengthening legal support for entrepreneurship.

“We, as an agency, using this platform effectively, are interested in actively involving business circles and entrepreneurs in the process of preparing legislation. Especially in the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, in the process of modernization of legislation, we need the proposals of entrepreneurs and look forward to their assessment. As an element of the country's economic policy, the sustainable development of small and medium-sized businesses in Azerbaijan is always a priority,” he said.

The Agency for Development of SMEs created at the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev, will serve to adapt the management system of enterprises to modern requirements, as well as to increase the role of small and medium businesses in the economy.

"The decree of President Ilham Aliyev dated June 26 to ensure the activities of the Agency contributes to a fundamental change in the development of small and medium businesses," he said.

The head of the agency noted that according to the decree, “Small and Medium Business Houses”, created at the agency, “Small and Medium Business Development Centers”, “Small and Medium-Sized Business Development Funds”, “Center for the Development of State-Entrepreneurial Partnership”, and created by the agency in all cities and districts of the Friends of Small and Medium Business network promote the use of a number of new and innovative mechanisms.

“Our main goal is to achieve entrepreneurs’satisfaction and to carry out our activities in accordance with the principles of transparency and efficiency,” he stressed.

Orhan Mammadov said that the agency’s task is to ensure the close participation of entrepreneurs in the discussions of legislative acts in this direction, taking measures to strengthen mutual trust between the business community and government bodies in the economic reforms carried out in the country, as well as conducting an examination of economic and other aspects of legislative acts affecting the activities of entrepreneurs.

“Based on these responsibilities, as well as the assignment given by the relevant presidential decree Ilham Aliyev, the agency actively participated in the preparation of the law on the development of small and medium business,” Orhan Mammadov added.

In addition, he said, the creation of a unified register of small and medium-sized businesses, the provision of public services through unified electronic information systems, the creation of favorable conditions for the participation of small and medium-sized businesses in public procurement, the creation of infrastructure to support entrepreneurship, are new mechanisms provided for by the draft law.

The Agency for Small and Medium Business Development of Azerbaijan was established on the basis of the decree on improvement of management in the field of small and medium-sized businesses signed by President Ilham Aliyev in December 2017.

The task of the Agency is to ensure the consistency of reforms, as well as the improvement of the business regulation system and the application of effective coordination, enhancing the role and competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses in the country's economy, and the compliance of the management system of this sphere with modern requirements.

As a single structure with special powers, through the Houses of SMEs, the Agency will organize, coordinate, evaluate and regulate the services rendered by state agencies and organizations in this area.

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