Azerbaijan-Latvian Business Forum was organized in Riga.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Latvian President Valdis Zatlers attended the Business Forum.

Participants of the forum welcomed the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Latvia warmly.

200 businessmen from both countries attended the Business Forum. The main purpose of the forum was to establish fruitful cooperation between the entrepreneurs in various fields of the economy and using the existing economic potential, to boost trade turnover to the level that would satisfy both countries.

The Presidents delivered speeches at the Business Forum.

Speech by Latvian President Valdis Zatlers

Mr President, excellencies, ministers, businesspeople from Azerbaijan and Latvia, ladies and gentlemen: Welcome to Rīga! I am delighted at this opportunity to address the participants of the Latvian-Azerbaijani Business Forum. I very much welcome the fact that such meetings between businesspeople from the two countries and the organisation of business forums of this type have become a regular tradition at this time.

I would like to thank the organisers of this event – the Latvian Investment and Development Agency and the Azerbaijani Export and Investment Promotion Fund. They have invested a great deal of work in this meeting.

Although the geographic distance between Latvia and Azerbaijan is substantial, that has not been an obstacle against co-operation between our countries.

I am truly delighted that during previous business forums, businesspeople have established business contacts which have resulted in partnership agreements and indicate that businesspeople are truly interested in working together.

Ladies and gentlemen, a prerequisite for economic contacts is successful political co-operation, including high-level political visits, as well as the necessary legal foundations for economic relations.

Mr President, your visit to Latvia confirms the successful co-operation between our countries, as well as the stability and mutual understanding that exist in the bilateral relationship between Latvia and Azerbaijan. I welcome the fact that the Latvian-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission has proven to be an effective instrument in promoting and co-ordinating bilateral partnerships, also ensuring support for business priorities at the governmental level.

The diverse nature of our partnership is demonstrated by the declaration which President Aliyev and I signed today, expressing our dedication toward an expansion of the legal foundations of our partnership so as to strengthen our movement toward increased bilateral co-operation. We agreed that we both wish to facilitate economic growth by facilitating the accessibility of the market for goods and services, supporting improvements to the business environment, and organising regularly scheduled business forums.

We also accented the importance of investments in expanding bilateral economic co-operation this declaration. Our promise is that we will maintain regular contacts and exchange experience in terms of international and regional security.

Economic co-operation is one of the most important factors in the bilateral relationship between Latvia and Azerbaijan. Over the last few years, we have seen distinctly positive developments in this relationship. During the first three quarters of 2010, for instance, trade between Latvia and Azerbaijan increased by 10% in comparison to the same period in 2009. Over the course of the last five years, trade between our countries has increased by no less than 81%. That is an outstanding achievement. At the same time, however, it is clear that there is still significant potential for further developments in this area.

I very much appreciate the heartfelt friendship which exists between our countries, as well as our successful co-operation in economics and in the social and cultural sector. I am sure that our close co-operation will continue.

Over the last 20 years, Latvia has done a great deal to achieve the strategic goal of joining the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. I am truly proud of the fact that our status as a member state, as well as the trustworthy partnership between those organisations and Azerbaijan, have opened up even greater opportunities for co-operation between our countries and regions. We might even say that our experience in implementing reforms and our successes and failures in this area have become one of Latvia’s most valuable export products. We are prepared to offer knowledge and experience in supporting Azerbaijan’s reform efforts, as well.

There are specific areas in terms of economic co-operation between Latvia and Azerbaijan in which there is much promise. This includes Latvia’s highly developed chemical, pharmaceutical and information technology sectors, as well as our grocery industry and financial sector. There are also outstanding opportunities for greater business co-operation in areas such as construction, metal processing, the energy sector, electronics, transport and logistics, as well as education.

Please allow me to cite two specific examples. In the area of information technologies, we see opportunities to expand co-operation with Azerbaijan in the area of linguistic technologies so as to promote the use of national languages in relation to information and communications technologies and solutions. We are delighted about the co-operation in this area which has begun successfully, and we see substantial potential for work with the Latvian Information Technology Competence Centre and its “Language Shore” initiative in developing linguistic technologies.

Another very promising direction for co-operation between the businesspeople of our countries is the computerisation of the banking and insurance sector. Latvia has developed solutions which can be offered in this regard.

In the area of food exports, there is also great potential for more active co-operation in terms of seeking out the best solutions for the delivery and distribution of products. We hope that you will learn more about the outstandingly tasty foods which are produced in Latvia.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Latvian government stands ready to offer all of the support that is necessary for the development of economic co-operation between Latvia and Azerbaijan. The large delegation of businesspeople who are here today have thus confirmed their interest in establishing and developing contacts amongst themselves.

To the participants in this business forum, I wish to say that Latvia wants to encourage Azerbaijani businesspeople to invest in Latvia and to take advantage of the opportunities that we can offer – a secure business environment, our geographic location, our qualified labour force, our high level of potential in terms of innovations, as well as the fact that we are a part of the European Union’s common market.

The Baltic sea region is one of the most highly developed regions in the European Union in terms of high technologies, innovations and science. Rīga is a key city in this cluster of economics and development. The geographic advantages of Latvia and Rīga, as well as our increasing economic potential in the Baltic sea region, mean that ours is an attractive investment environment.

After a rapid decline, Latvia’s economy has, over the past year, improved several major indicators related to economic development and the business environment.

Please allow me to note that the most rapid growth has been seen in the export sector. Indicators in this area have increased for several quarters in a row. This shows that our companies and our industries have restructured themselves so as to ensure a substantial increase in productivity.

In the World Bank’s “Doing Business” rating, Latvia was ranked as the world’s 24th most favourable country in terms of business development. We were able to move three places forward in that ranking over the course of just the past year.

Latvia can be proud of one of the lowest corporate tax burdens in the entire European Union. The effective rate of the corporate income tax is below 10%. All of this means a favourable environment for foreign investments and the development of manufacturing in Latvia.

Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome today’s business forum and this opportunity for businesspeople from our two countries to deepen their mutual contacts. I would also like to express the hope that effective co-operation will continue and develop between the Latvian Investment and Development Agency and the Azerbaijani Export and Investment Promotion Fund.

Latvia will be truly delighted if businesspeople do well, and we will make sure that we develop an ever more favourable environment for business and investments.

I wish you success. I hope that you will find new opportunities to develop your business in my country, Latvia.

Speech by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 

Dear Mr. President!

Dear ladies and gentlemen!

First of all, I would like to salute all participants of the forum from the bottom of my heart!

I believe that today's event is very significant. Latvian-Azerbaijani business forums have already become a good tradition. Business people of our countries have met on a number of occasions in the past. Evidently, there is so much mutual interest that regular business forums have become a reality.

Indeed, there is a great mutual interest. At the same time, we are not fully satisfied with the present level of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Latvia. We have exchanged views about that with Mr. President today. I believe that there is a much greater potential. The present political relations and the developing cooperation trends between our countries provide excellent conditions for business development as well. We must strive to make our relations multifaceted, to ensure that they encompass all spheres. There are good opportunities in the economic sphere to do even more.

Today, Latvia and Azerbaijan have signed very important documents. I want to emphasize the Joint Declaration. The issues reflected in the declaration outline prospects for our relationship and express our intentions. In general, during my second visit to Latvia, very fruitful talks and a broad exchange of views have been held. I am confident that this visit will give a powerful impetus to the relations between the two countries.

Azerbaijan is a rapidly developing economy. In recent years, our economy has been growing at the highest rate in the world. Over the last seven years, Azerbaijan's gross domestic product has grown almost three times, poverty has reduced 4-5 times, over 900,000 jobs have been created in our country, the economy has received a powerful impetus and Azerbaijan has attracted significant investment. Last year alone, $15.5 billion was invested in Azerbaijan, mostly by domestic sources. Azerbaijani companies and state have invested over $ 9 billion.

There is a very favorable investment environment in our country. Azerbaijan ranks first in the CIS for the volume of direct foreign investment per capita. According to the World Economic Forum, Azerbaijan is also ranked as the most competitive economy in the CIS. In short, we want our economic reforms to serve overall development of the country.

Currently, we are making every effort to diversify our economy, and our efforts are paying off. Energy, the oil and gas industry, is our key economic sector. Although the price of oil in the world fell 4-5 times in 2009, our economy grew by 9.3 per cent. This growth was achieved thanks to the reforms conducted in previous years and the investment in the non-oil sector and infrastructure projects. Last year Azerbaijan registered economic development again – our economy grew by 5 per cent. I am sure that in the coming years these trends will grow further.

I think that meetings in this format have a great deal of sense because we revisit some of the ongoing projects. While reviewing the agenda, I saw that it contains projects being implemented or about to be implemented in Azerbaijan. We are making great efforts to establish new economic sectors in Azerbaijan, paying great attention to areas non-traditional for us. President Zatlers has noted that Latvia has made great progress in the information and communication technologies sector, which is a promising area for our cooperation. Azerbaijan is also taking very important steps in this direction, and is among leading CIS states for the level of development of the ICT sector.

We have already embarked on the development of space industry in Azerbaijan. In two years, we will put Azerbaijan’s first satellite on the orbit. Thus, as a result of these measures it will be possible to create a non-traditional space industry in Azerbaijan.

We are extensively conducting the policy of modernization in Azerbaijan. This policy will allow us to be less dependent on energy resources. Our main goal is to secure a strong, sustainable, long-term economic development, improve the welfare of our people and take all necessary measures to address social issues in Azerbaijan. To do that, the state is investing a lot in various spheres of life in our country. I believe that business people from Latvia can also benefit from these opportunities. We have a very large investment portfolio, and businessmen from Latvia can introduce their expertise to various sectors of construction.

At the same time, Azerbaijan is a country very favorable for investment, and we expect investment from Latvia. I am confident that these investments will be measured by even greater figures. Azerbaijan, for its part, has started investing large amounts in foreign countries. Over the past several years, we have invested several billion dollars in neighboring countries, and this process is ongoing. We are interested in strengthening cooperation with friendly countries on the basis of investment projects.

The energy sector, which is quite traditional for us, is rapidly developing in Azerbaijan. Last year, Azerbaijan produced 51 million tons of oil and 27 billion cubic meters of gas, much of which was exported to world markets. A few days ago, during a visit to Azerbaijan by European Commission President Mr. Barroso, the EU and Azerbaijan signed a very important declaration pertaining to the energy sector. The declaration will have a great impact on the future cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan. In general, the relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan are based on very sound footing. This is a relationship built on mutual interests and mutual respect. Of course, Latvia, a friendly country for Azerbaijan, is also making a valuable contribution to the EU-Azerbaijan relations. We have always highlighted the activities of Latvia in this area. There is no doubt that in the coming years the relations between the European Union and Azerbaijan will become even stronger, will cover even more spheres and bring Azerbaijan even closer to Europe. We want this to happen and believe that there are enough issues and factors that could contribute to the interests of both parties. We must simply implement all these plans in a timely and correct manner.

Of course, the financial recession that has affected the world has had an impact on every country, including Azerbaijan. But we have tried to minimize its impact on our people. I can say that the population of Azerbaijan did not experience the bitter consequences of the crisis in 2009 and 2010. The rate of our national currency, the Manat, has remained stable. Last year our foreign exchange reserves further increased. Today, Azerbaijan has foreign exchange reserves of $30 billion. Of course, this is a large amount that helps us feel confident. We no longer need to ask international financial institutions for help in implementing projects in Azerbaijan. Quite soon Azerbaijan will be ready to participate, on a par with international financial organizations, in various programs of assistance to third countries.

Our regions are only beginning to establish contact with each other. The relations between countries of the Caspian and Baltic basins are traditionally at a good level. In the present context, these relations have moved to a new plane, and transportation projects are certainly of great importance for regional cooperation. Among them, I want to emphasize the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. Azerbaijan is working on this project together with its neighbors. I do hope that in two years, after the railway is commissioned, the new Silk Way linking Europe with Asia will start functioning and, of course, countries of both Europe and Asia will benefit from it. I am proud to say that this project, which remained a topic of discussion for years, has finally been launched thanks to the extensive efforts of Azerbaijan.

I want to reiterate that every economic initiative is highly appreciated in Azerbaijan. We have made different economic and infrastructure initiatives in the region. These initiatives have already been implemented, especially those in the energy and transport sectors.

Going back to Latvian-Azerbaijani relations, I want to note that these relations are very strong. We have a strong political will. Political interests are at a very high level, and business people should certainly take advantage of these excellent opportunities because investments are made in friendly and predictable countries. I believe that our alliance and cooperation will represent wonderful support for business people.

Let me cordially welcome all participants of the business forum again, express my gratitude to our Latvian friends, especially President Zatlers, for the hospitality we have enjoyed. I want to express my confidence that this forum will produce good results in the future.
Thank you!

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The forum featured the signing of several documents on cooperation in business sector and investment making between Azerbaijan and Latvia.

Detailed information was provided on economic developments, investment opportunities and cooperation potentials of Azerbaijan and Latvia and presentation of various projects was held at the Business Forum.

Presidents of Azerbaijan and Latvia toured the exhibition organized within the framework of the forum and viewed the samples of various types of goods produced by both countries.