Baku, 10 September 2021 (TDI): The 10th Meeting of the Ministers in Charge of Economy of the Turkic Council was held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Mikayil Jabbarov hosted the meeting, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, moderated by Baghdad Amreyev, Secretary-General of the Turkic Council, and attended by Akylbek Zhaparov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, Bakhyt Sultanov, Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dr. Mehmet Muş, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey, Aziz Voitov, First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Peter Sztaray, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary.
In his welcoming speech, Secretary-General Baghdad Amreyev briefed the Ministers about the current state and latest developments in the sphere of economic cooperation within the Turkic Council, especially the process of establishing the Turkic Investment and Development Fund preparation of multilateral Agreement on Free Trade in services and investments.
Secretary-General Amreyev stressed the need to continue promoting trade facilitation and inclusive economic development in the region and expressed that the Trade Facilitation Strategy Paper planned to be adopted within the Organization would accelerate trade liberalization among the Members and Observer States.
Highlighting the role of digital trade as a modern trade facilitation tool that creates new trade opportunities resulting in countries diversifying their export baskets, Secretary-General drew the Ministers’ attention to the need for the development of this sphere among the Member and Observer States.
Welcoming the delegations to the Ministerial Meeting, the Economic Minister of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov emphasized that the Member States have rapidly developed their relations in all spheres based on mutual respect and friendship. Highlighting great opportunities for mutual investment and existing transit potential, Minister Jabbarov called on the Turkic countries to fully utilize cooperation opportunities and take advantage of the Alat Free Economic Zone, industrial zones, and the Baku International Sea Trade Port of Azerbaijan.
Minister Jabbarov also provided information on the Azerbaijani economy, National Priorities for socio-economic development until 2030, aimed at turning Azerbaijan into a country with a clean environment and “green growth” and attracting private investment implementing large-scale projects.
During the meeting, the Ministers held discussions on the agenda items, including “Feasibility Study” and “Agreement Establishing of the Turkic Investment Fund; legal statue and further activities of the Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TCCI); the establishment of the Turkic Trade Houses in the Member States. The Ministers also elaborated the Business and Investment Forums organization in Hungary (Budapest) in 2021 and Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek) in 2022.
The Signing Ceremony of the “Memorandum of Understanding on Information and Experience Sharing among Various Types of Economic Zones by the Ministers” and the Award Ceremony of the “Turkic Business Prize” was organized.
Following the Ministerial Meeting, the Press Conference and presentation of “Research Paper on Trade and Investment Relations among the Turkic Council Member States” prepared by the Secretariat in cooperation with SESRIC were organized with mass media participation.
