Baku Summed Up Results of Tenth Anniversary of Start of Twinning Projects with EU

Azerbaijan is the region's leader in the implementation of twinning projects with the European Union, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Sahil Babayev said today at a conference dedicated to the 10^th anniversary of the start of twinning programs.

He noted that 45 twinning projects have been agreed over the past time, of which 26 have already been completed.

“Twinning projects contribute to the improvement of legislation and administrative management,” he said.

Touching upon the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU, Babayev noted the European Union is the largest trade partner of Azerbaijan.

“Whereas in 2016 the trade turnover with the EU made up 35% of the total trade turnover of Azerbaijan, in the first two months of 2017 this indicator increased to 42%,” he said.

Babayev said 45% of foreign investments in Azerbaijan in the fixed capital accounted for the share of the EU. In absolute terms, the volume of investments is $ 20 billion. In the non-oil sector, 35% of investments fall to the share of the EU countries. The EU has spent 582 million euros on projects in Azerbaijan.

The head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Malena Mard, said that now it is possible to see the results of twinning projects, one of which is the improvement of legislation, as well as the experience gained from the implementation of projects.

“It is gratifying that even after the completion of individual twinning projects, cooperation between the parties continues,” she said.

Mard said that over the past 5 years, more than 300 seminars have been held in the framework of twinning projects and more than 100 visits have been organized for representatives of various ministries. -71D-