Baku, November 13, AZERTAC

An Azerbaijan-Slovakia business forum has been organized by Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan in Baku. Along with officials from Azerbaijan and Slovakia, the business forum brought together representatives of nearly 200 companies operating in industrial, energy, ICT, mechanical engineering, chemistry, food, railways, healthcare and other fields.

Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev said that the business forum is a favorable platform for conducting direct negotiations and defining promising areas of cooperation among business communities. The minister noted that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the development of relations with the European Union member countries, including Slovakia. Shahin Mustafayev pointed out that the European Union is Azerbaijan`s main foreign trade partner.

The economy minister said that trade between Azerbaijan and Slovakia increased 33% in nine months of this year compared to the same period last year. “Now 11 Slovak companies are operating in Azerbaijan in the fields of service, trade, construction and transport. The two countries have potential for cooperation in industrial, energy, agricultural, tourism, ICT and transport areas.”

Prime Minister of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini described the participation of a large number of businessmen in the forum as a sign of the importance attached to the development of the bilateral relations. Peter Pellegrini stressed that Slovakian businessmen are interested in cooperation in energy, renewable energy, mechanical engineering, chemistry, ICT and other spheres. He noted that the business forum will contribute to the expansion of cooperation and the establishment of new contacts. The premier said that it is planned to open the Embassy of Slovakia in Azerbaijan soon and establish a joint intergovernmental commission between the two countries.

The forum also featured bilateral meetings between Azerbaijani and Slovakian businessmen.