BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. Ecosystems have
emerged as a new direction for industrial zones, Nataly Mouravidze,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD)
country manager for Azerbaijan, said Friday at the second
Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku, Trend’s correspondent reports from the
event.
Speaking during the panel discussion “Industrial Platforms and
Free Economic Zones: Azerbaijan as a Regional Production Hub,”
Mouravidze said the EBRD has gained extensive experience from
working with various companies and countries as an investor.
“In the past, investors came to build factories, but now they
ask completely different questions: ‘Can I expand my operations
from this region?’, ‘Can I cover different markets?’, ‘What kind of
ecosystem exists?’
“In many countries where we have implemented projects, they
became successful when industrial zones stopped viewing themselves
solely as industrial zones and transformed into ecosystems bringing
together suppliers, buyers and manufacturers. All these components
already exist in Azerbaijan,” she said.
The second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum is being
held in Baku.
The two-day forum is organized by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of
Economy and its subordinate Azerbaijan Export and Investment
Promotion Agency (AZPROMO), in strategic partnership with European
House – Ambrosetti.
Plenary and panel sessions at the event will address strategic
issues including the Middle Corridor, energy and the green
transition, artificial intelligence and digital transformation,
infrastructure, industry and free economic zones, critical raw
materials, agribusiness, financial cooperation, small and
medium-sized business development, tourism, real estate and
investment in human capital.
