Azerbaijani entrepreneurs eye to create catering facilities on liberated lands

By Trend

Entrepreneurs express their interest in setting up catering facilities in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan and investing in this sector, said the Board Chairman of the Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Orkhan Mammadov said, a source in the agency told Trend on Jan.28.

Mammadov made the remark at an online forum on the ‘Food industry and public catering sector: current situation and prospects’ topic, held with the organizational support of the Public Council under the agency and in partnership with the Association of Food and Beverage Industry Representatives.

According to him, the liberation of Azerbaijani lands from (Armenian) occupation during the 44-day war (from late Sept. through early Nov.2020) has opened up new business opportunities.

“To date, the agency has received many applications from entrepreneurs wishing to open their own business in the liberated districts. These appeals mainly relate to manufacturing, tourism, textiles, construction, medicine, as well as public catering, food processing and agriculture,” the chairman said. “The agency provides the necessary information support, coordination and consulting services to those wishing to create and invest in the territories liberated from the occupation,” Mammadov said.

The chairman also stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the public catering sector, and in this context, the government is still taking active measures to protect businesses through various support mechanisms. This forum, held with the participation of entrepreneurs and government agencies in the post-war period and on the eve of the pandemic end, is an important venue for thematic discussions and dialogue between the public and private sectors.

The Deputy Chairman of Azerbaijan’s Food Safety Agency (FSA), Balarahim Guliyev spoke about the measures taken by the agency during the pandemic.

Guliyev noted that within the COVID-19 response measures, extensive educational events are being carried out among the population and entrepreneurs.

With the participation of international and local experts, a conceptual document on the activities of the FSA in the liberated territories was prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities, he noted, adding that entrepreneurs are responsible for the restoration of these lands, and invited them to cooperate with the agency to resolve issues arising from the performance of the assigned tasks.

In his speech, the Vice-President of the National Confederation of Organizations of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan, Vugar Zeynalov, said that the organization always supports entrepreneurs in reducing the impact of the pandemic on the development of entrepreneurship in 2020, numerous appeals and proposals from entrepreneurs were submitted to state bodies, discussions involving the public and private sectors.

Emin Dostyari, Chairman of the Association of Representatives of the Food and Beverage Industry of Azerbaijan, informed the participants of the event about the difficulties in this area that entrepreneurs faced during the pandemic, and also voiced a number of proposals from the association members.

The Chairman of the Public Council under the Agency for Development of SMEs, Farhad Garashov, pointed out that the forum was organized to discuss the challenges faced by SMEs in the food industry and catering during a pandemic, within the framework of the dialogue between the state and business and their expectations in the post-pandemic period, study and submitting relevant proposals to the relevant departments.

The online forum participants also discussed the problems of catering facilities, and their questions were answered.

The forum, which was held online in accordance with the requirements of the quarantine regime, was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Economy and its structural divisions, the Ministry of Agriculture, FSA, the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan, as well as business entities and associations operating in various fields.