Azerbaijan Sets Up Small And Medium Business Dev't, Investment And Export Promotion Agency

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 24. The Agency for the Development of Small and Medium Business, Investment, and Export Promotion in Azerbaijan (hereinafter referred to as the agency) has been established under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed the relevant decree.

According to the document, the agency is being established on the basis of the public legal entity "Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Businesses of the Republic of Azerbaijan" and the public legal entity "Agency for the Promotion of Investments and Exports of Azerbaijan-AZPROMO" under the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The decree was signed to ensure a more efficient and coordinated implementation of state policy in the field of micro, small, and medium-sized business development, investment, and export promotion.

It was determined that the agency is an institution within the structure of the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, which operates in the direction of supporting the development of micro, small, and medium-sized entrepreneurship, promoting investments and exports in the non-oil (gas) sector, participating in the protection of the interests of business entities, and coordinating the services of state bodies (institutions) and entrepreneurs in this area.

The number of employees of the agency is set at a total of 370 staff units, including 291 staff units for the employees of its office and 79 staff units for the employees of its regional departments.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan must prepare and submit proposals on the following to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan:

Within three months:

• A draft of the agency's statute and structure;
• Improvement of regulatory legal acts;

Within nine months:

• Mechanisms for the gradual implementation by private sector entities of the services provided by state bodies (institutions) to micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurship entities, exporters and investors;
• Improvement of investment and export promotion mechanisms in the non-oil (gas) sector;
• Must ensure the transfer of state property on the balance sheet of public legal entities specified in this decree to the balance sheet of the agency within three months;
• Must take measures to ensure the staffing of the Agency's employees at the expense of employees of public legal entities specified in this decree, in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On civil service";
• Must resolve issues related to the financing of the Agency's activities within one month;
• Must ensure that the resolution of issues of material and technical support of the agency, as well as the financing of expenses related to the implementation of the improvement of investment and export promotion mechanisms in the non-oil (gas) sector, is financed within the funds provided for in the state budget in the current year, and that appropriate funds are provided for in the state budget projects in the following years, and shall inform the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan about this;
• Must resolve other issues arising from this decree.

Until approval of the agency's charter and structure, the public legal entities specified in this decree will continue their activities.

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