On April 06, 2016, in Baku, in Baku Business Center, members of "Economic Development" Expert Council under the Council of State Support to NGOs under the Auspices of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan held a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Economy

Experts of "Economic Development" Expert Council and deputy ministers and heads of departments attended the meeting.

The aim of the meeting was to ensure the active participation of civil society in economic reforms, discuss the problems of the economy, contribute to the solution process and define perspectives of future cooperation with the Ministry of Economy.

Mr. Niyazi Safarov - Deputy Minister of Economic Development stressed that the civil society is a very important part of our society and the Ministry is interested in cooperation with civil society. The meeting will be held in the atmosphere of mutual discussions, he said.

After a short speech by the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Mr. Sabit Bagirov expressed his gratitude on behalf of the "Economic Development" Expert Council to the Minister Shahin Mustafayev, deputy minister Niyazi Safarov and other representatives of the Ministry for their agreement to hold this meeting. Then, Mr. Sabit Bagirov presented members of the "Economic Development" Expert Council to the participants of the meeting and stressed that each of the member of the Council is a representative of civil society organizations and members of the Council have significant experience in economic sphere.

Then, Mr. Sabit Bagirov presented the package of proposals made by the Council for the development of the economy. He noted that, 5 proposals were prepared by the Council and the aim of these proposals is to find solutions for economic problems in the crisis.

Among the most notable proposals, “Public Control”, the establishment of the Supreme Economic Council under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ombudsman institution attracted attention of participants.

Mr. Nizayi Safarov – deputy minister, presented representatives of the ministry to the participants.

Discussions continued with speeches of experts and representatives of the Ministry. Mr. Fikrat Yusifov - Former Minister of Finance, director of the “Economics” Center for Economic Studies, dedicated his speech to the economic problems in the country and ways of their solutions. Mr. Fikrat Yusifov said that the biggest problem of the economy at the moment is related to the repayment of loans. He stressed that a considerable part of the population are concerned with this issue. He added that, the issue is currently going through the courts.

Then, the event continued with the speech of Mr. Eyyub Huseynov – the chairman of the Free Consumers Union. He made his speech mainly on problems of consumers and noted that there is a need for the consumer policy in the country.

Mr. Vugar Zeynalov - Vice-President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of Azerbaijan Republic, talked about current challenges in the economy. He talked about the problems in particular in the sphere of the import of flour, bakery and shops. “National currency supply towards real sector should be increased, this is very important for economic growth” – he said. He also pointed out that 6% tax which will be applied to entrepreneurs will cause further challenges in the situation. He also noted that, entrepreneurs are very pleased of the simplification of the procedures for obtaining licenses.

The importance of primary business education for the people who want to start their own business activity and international experience in this field was also emphasized in the meeting.

Then, Azer Mehtiyev - the chairman of the Center For Support to Economic Initiatives made a speech. In his speech, he talked about problems in export, tourism spheres. He stressed the importance of strategic goals for the development of the economy.

Representatives of the Ministry of Economy informed about the work done by the Ministry in recent years. They said that, the procedures for obtaining licenses were simplified and they made great achievements in this field. Representatives of the Ministry also emphasized that Businees Incubation Center was founded in Khachmaz disctrict under the Regional Development Centre of the Ministry of Economy. The Center was technically equipped and opened for young people who want to start their own business. Trainings on entrepreneurship are held for young people in the Center. Competition among young people for the best business ideas was also held in the Center. Another Business Incubation Center will be opened in Yevlakh soon. The ministry is also implementing a joint program with Germany, under the program; young people will get a chance to take courses on mamgement in Germany.

Representative of the Ministry also noted that, the Public Council will be established under the Ministry and some civil society institutions have already applied for the membership in the Council.

Mr. Sevgim Rahmanov – chairman of the Union of the merchants and manufacturers of Azerbaijan, stressed the importance of regular meetings between the Council and the Ministry of Economy.

At the end of the meeting, both representatives of the Ministry of Economy and the members of "Economic Development" Expert Council stressed the importance of continuation of these regular meetings and noted that a discussion will be held on the format and time of further meetings.