Azerbaijan’s position as a transport hub presents a lot of opportunities for businesses, European Commission's spokesperson said, AzerNews reported citing Trend.
The spokesperson noted that the EU has over 300 companies doing business in Azerbaijan coming from over 20 member states.
"The EU accounts for around 50 percent of Azerbaijan's total foreign trade, with bilateral trade flows amounting to over 11 billion euros in 2017 (1.7 billion eurosin EU exports to Azerbaijan; 9.4 billion euros in imports from Azerbaijan into the EU). EU imports from Azerbaijan are mostly (98 percent) fuels and mining products, while EU main exports to Azerbaijan are machinery and chemical products (nearly 45 percent)," said the European commission’s representative.
The spokesperson went on to add that the EU is also the biggest investor in Azerbaijan: the EU has invested over $20 billion in the country (representing 46 percent of total foreign direct investments) over the past 11 years and it is the largest foreign investor both in the oil and non-oil sector.
"Though these figures are encouraging, much more could be done as regards the Azerbaijani investment climate. In particular, the country's position as a transport hub presents a lot of opportunities for businesses. Industry, transport, agriculture, information technology, tourism, education and health are some examples of areas that are relevant for future EU-Azerbaijan economic cooperation," said the European Commission’s representative.
