Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24
By Taleh Mursagulov - Trend:
The share of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan’s foreign trade is planned to increase to 40 percent after 2025, Chairman of the Board of the Agency for the Development of SMEs Orkhan Mammadov said Dec. 24 at the “Foreign Trade Participants Forum: Application of Green Corridor Pass System”, Trend reports.
Mammadov noted that consistent implementation of strategic line defined by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the systematic reforms undertaken in this area led to significant improvement in the quality of public services for entrepreneurs.
Mammadov said that the Agency is committed to supporting the SME sector, conducts briefing among representatives of SMEs on state support mechanisms, and also simplifies their access to this support.
“One of the key tasks assigned to the Agency as part of the “Strategic roadmap for the production of consumer goods at the level of SMEs” is a significant increase in the share of exports of these products in the country’s foreign trade,” he added. “In this regard, application of the Green Corridor system plays a special role in the customs regulation of foreign economic activity.”
He said that the use of the Green Corridor system will help optimize customs control procedures, contribute to more flexible and transparent implementation of customs clearance and development of citizens’ relations with officials based on modern management principles.
“At the same time, the Agency acts as a competent authority to protect the interests of SMEs in the sphere of “state-entrepreneur” cooperation, in solving problems arising in the course of import-export operations,” he noted. “To ensure efficiency in this area, the Agency has created an online platform “Support system for entrepreneurs” which will be commissioned soon.”
Mammadov also added that the Agency is working on the creation of SME Houses, and the creation of the first SME House in Baku has already begun.
“The range of services that will be provided to entrepreneurs through these houses will be significantly expanded,” he said. “Customs services will also be one of the important public services in these houses, and active cooperation with the State Customs Committee is envisaged in this direction.”
Mammadov also noted that one of the important projects of the Agency is the creation of the “Registry of SMEs” and raising awareness about various state information resources on the basis of a single database on SMEs. This registry may serve as an information base for transparent identification of participants in the Green Corridor system based on risk levels.
He also reminded that considering the need for cooperation in all these areas, on Aug. 8, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the State Customs Committee and the Agency.
“Expressing our satisfaction with the cooperation with the State Customs Committee, we believe that it will expand in the future,” said Mammadov. “I am sure that joint measures will help SMEs to receive better services without wasting time, and ultimately will contribute to increasing their share in foreign trade.”
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