Baku, September 18, AZERTAC

Ambassador of India to Azerbaijan Sanjay Rana has visited Lahij, Ismayilli to meet with youth and women participating in the business development and management program organised by the Azerbaijan Rural Investment Project (AZRIP) of the Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Azerbaijan with support of trainers from Kudumbashree organization from the Indian State of Kerala. He met with Chairman of the State Service on Management of Agricultural Projects and Credits Mirza Aliyev and other specialists of AZRIP and discussed inter-governmental cooperation between India and Azerbaijan for mutually beneficial training programmes.

The AZRIP training course in Lahij for members of Women Development Groups and Youth Community Business Promoters from five pilot districts was held from September 6-17. Under this programme, youth and women were imparted training by expert trainers from Kudumbashree project in the skills required for successful running of businesses such as making business plans, preparing project reports, getting necessary finance from banks and marketing of the products and services.

This training course is part of the Women’s Economic Empowerment programme of AZRIP under which Women Development Groups comprising 88 women are being trained in five districts- Massalli, Lankaran, Ismailli, Balakan and Aghdam. This model was introduced after an exposure visit to India in March 2018 arranged by the World Bank. Technical assistance for the pilot has been provided by Kudumbashree, the State Poverty Alleviation and Women’s Empowerment Program of the Government of Kerala State, India. This partnership was made possible through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Program between the Governments of India and Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the meeting with the participants of trainings Ambassador Sanjay Rana mentioned importance of cooperation between Azerbaijan and India in women empowerment. “Such training programs are very useful for capacity building of women entrepreneurs. Trainers from Kudumbashree project are very successful in India and I am sure their experience will further contribute to Women’s Economic Empowerment in Azerbaijan,” he said.