Azerbaijan to be central point in S Caucasus through partnering with China's e-commerce giant

To promote economic activities and diversify exports, Azerbaijan takes different measures. One of these measures is to strengthen its position in e-commerce. For this purpose, the government conducts regular reforms, and officials hold meetings with representatives of governments and companies.

In this regard, Azerbaijan recently hosted the representative of the worldwide Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. Different governmental bodies received the delegation led by Tim Song, head of the Global Strategic Partnership at Alibaba. Within the framework of the visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Azerbaijan’s Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) and the Chinese e-commerce giant.

Besides, the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry held a meeting with the representatives of Alibaba. The meeting discussed promoting the company’s business relations with Azerbaijan, bringing local products with high export potential to the international e-commerce platform, and other potential cooperation.

Azerbaijani sides gave detailed information about the favourable business and investment environment in the country, the opportunities created for investors, the support provided to entrepreneurs, as well as the enterprises with high export potential and strategic export products, and the mechanisms for promoting the Made in Azerbaijan brand.

It is worth noting that numerous companies sell their products through the Internet within Azerbaijan. Besides, a Turkish e-commerce company operates in Azerbaijan. However, exporting products manufactured in the country is not well known and is considered new. That is why Azerbaijani officials are interested in e-commerce. In this regard, several meetings have been held with Turkish and Chinese e-commerce companies.

The British journalist and expert on energy issues, Neil Watson, in a comment for Azernews, noted that collaboration with Alibaba is extremely important. This is a major step towards diversifying the Azerbaijani economy. He mentioned that it is the most important e-commerce group and has played an integral role in the rapid development of the Chinese economy. Historically, there have been two major problems with selling Azerbaijani products. These have been connected with undertaking the necessary approval processes to permit international distribution and logistics issues, enabling time-efficient and cost-effective shipping.

“Alibaba can surmount all these issues, and hosting on its platform will also enhance awareness of Azerbaijani products. For decades, the quality of Azerbaijani products, particularly foodstuffs and handicrafts, has been known in their home country and neighbouring nations, but they have gone no further. To counteract this, Alibaba will provide an integrated ecosystem of international quality approvals, advertising, and containerised shipment that should serve to make Azerbaijani products easily available across the world. This should bolster the Azerbaijani economy during a time when oil and gas demand is gradually reducing due to an emphasis on renewable energy. Furthermore, demand determines supply, reducing unit prices, so an increased level of international demand should serve to make Azerbaijani products more competitive. Also, this development will play another role in cementing Azerbaijan’s position as the central country in the South Caucasus and one with international aspirations,” the expert concluded.