Finance

Finance

Azeri Ambassador: I am confident that our private investors will soon enter British market

09 December 2009 17:01 (UTC +04:00)

London. Vugar Mustafayev - APA-ECONOMICS. The 1st Azerbaijan International Investment Summit in London is of great importance in terms of broadening and deepening of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Great Britain, said Azerbaijanâ€™s ambassador to the UK Fakhraddin Gurbanov.

According to him, the conference organized by the Adam Smith Conferences was attended by representatives from well-known British, Azeri and foreign companies, and diplomats and international media representatives.

"In general, interest in Azerbaijan has increased significantly in recent years. This is not accidental because Azerbaijan demonstrates high development rates and is a leading state in the region. Along with this, the UK is a major investor in Azerbaijan, with 50% of total foreign investment in the Azerbaijani economy. Currently, there are 170 companies with British capital and about 5 000 Britons live and work in Azerbaijan," he added.

He also said that the newly established British-Azerbaijani Business Council has already sent 2 delegations to Azerbaijan within such a short period of time after its inception.

According to him, the last delegation visiting Baku in November included representatives from 20 companies.

According to him, along with the oil and gas sector, British investors also show great interest in ICT, banking, insurance services, and agriculture.

"Britain and Azerbaijan have already reached agreement on the establishment of agricultural joint venture to process fruits and vegetables. The joint venture will launch operation as early as 2010 and plans to export products to world markets, including the UK,â€ he added.

The Ambassador expressed his confidence that in addition to SOCAR, International Bank of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan Airlines, Azerbaijanâ€™s private sector companies will also enter the British market in the nearest future.

"I am sure that this summit will provide opportunities for Azerbaijanâ€™s private investors to reach the British market,â€ he added.