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Qabil Ashirov

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Azerbaijan is determined to develop the non-oil-and-gas sector as preparation post-oil period. To this end, Azerbaijan invested in different sectors of the economy from tourism to agriculture. Pharmaceutical is one of the sectors that the country attaches big importance to. Strictly speaking, the pharmaceutical sector is underdeveloped in Azerbaijan. The country is largely dependent on imports. The production of pharmaceuticals amounted to over $6m, of which over $2 m is exported. In contrast with export, the import totaled $653m ranking 6th. For developing this sector and bringing know-how to the country, Azerbaijan invested to build Pirallahi Industrial Park and has been working with different countries including Iran, Russia, and Turkiye so far. In addition, Yesterday Azerbaijan had representatives of pharmaceutical companies from Uzbekistan. The representatives visited the Pirallahi Industrial Park and discussed with Azerbaijan the prospect of investment in the pharmaceutical sector. This once again confirms that the government is very determined to develop this sector.

Azerbaijan meets the pharmaceutical needs of the country with the help of imports, Azerbaijani economist Eldeniz Amirov noted while speaking about the current facility for development of this area. He stressed that the development of this sector is difficult, but Azerbaijan can achieve it in the medium term.

“In general, so to say Azerbaijan is very largely dependent on imports to meet the demand for medicines. Actually, the development of this sector can be achieved in Azerbaijan, but this is not possible in a short time. Because this is a sector that requires a large amount of investment, and at the same time, it is a sector that requires a lot of experience. It should be ensured that the established companies to be long-lasting, that the established business entities expand their scope of activity, and at the same time, opportunities and conditions are created for the creation of new business entities. In this case, we can see the development of this sector in the medium term,” Eldeniz Amirov noted.

He also touched on the benefits of the sector as well. He noted that this sector is considered of strategic importance. Besides, it has big benefits for the overall economy.

“As for the benefits of this sector, this is a very important field of business in Azerbaijan in terms of its benefits for the citizens of Azerbaijan. Because regarding the pharmaceutical products, Azerbaijan is almost completely dependent on imports, and therefore the prices are quite high compared to the countries where these products are produced.

Besides, as is known, under certain conditions, supplier countries cannot export some medicines due to the supplier problems or increasing demands in the domestic markets. The world faced such problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this sector should be developed so that there are no problems in the supply chain and the price becomes affordable. On the other hand, the development of this sector means that the country has the pharmaceutical industry, which is considered a strategic industry, ensuring economic activity, increasing employment, and benefiting to the GDP. Looking from any parameters, we will see that the pharmaceutical sector is one of the most important directions for the country,” Amirov added added.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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