(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and industry plans to take part in the European Chamber's project within Eastern Partnership (EaP), Azerbaijan's chamber told Trend .
The organization is a member of the European Chamber, and the project to be implemented in 2021, is intended for representatives of small and medium business.
The project is aimed at strengthening trade, economic and investment cooperation between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries in the areas of tourism, food production, textile products, wine, as well as the creative industry,' Azerbaijan's chamber said.
'Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key aspects of the economy. In the EaP region, the share of SMEs ranges from 83 percent to 99 percent of the total number of enterprises and forms 50 percent of all jobs. However, these figures still lag behind those in the EU countries, where the SME segment covers more than two-thirds of the total employable population. The SMEs' share in creating new jobs has amounted to 85 percent over the past five years,' said the report.
'SMEs have the potential to create additional jobs and ensure economic growth. For this purpose, the project will be aimed at eliminating limited access to finance, red tape and difficulties in entering new markets,' the Chamber of Industry said.
The chamber noted that the total active portfolio of EU support under the EU4Business initiative is almost 320 million euros, which helped to attract over 1.9 billion euros in loans provided by partner banks for the SME segment in the region.
'The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), Gilan Holding, GAZELLİ GROUP, Unibank, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) and other organizations, are our long-term partners,' noted the chamber.
'In the near future, we're going to increase the number of partners of the chamber to increase both domestic and macroeconomic indicators of the country.'
The Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and Industry is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit public organization, which was created in 1922.
The chamber's activities are carried out in accordance with the legislation of Azerbaijan, the current charter of the organization and decisions of a higher authority.
It carries out activities in collaboration with enterprises, associations, organizations, entrepreneurs and their associations, regardless of ownership, subordination and location in Azerbaijan, as well as with entrepreneurs of other countries and international organizations.
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