By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan’s Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMBDA) and Japan’s International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have discussed ideas to support the implementation of joint projects, Azernews reports.

The discussion took place during a meeting between SMBDA’s Board Chairman Orkhan Mammadov and JICA’s Deputy Director General of the East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus Department Hideki Tanabe.

“Held a fruitful meeting with a delegation headed by Mr. Hideki Tanabe, Deputy Director General, East and Central Asia and the Caucasus Department, @jica_direct_en. Joint initiatives for development of #SMEs are on the way and #KOB?A looks forward to future cooperation with JICA,” Orkhan Mammadov wrote on his official Twitter page.

During the meeting, it was stressed that SMBDA attaches great importance to cooperation with international organizations, including JICA, in order to study international best practices in the sector of support and service to small and medium-sized businesses.

The sides also discussed the possibilities of expansion of ties with relevant Japanese institutions.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on September 7, 1992. On October 12, 2005, the embassy of Azerbaijan in Japan was opened, while the embassy of Japan in Azerbaijan was opened on January 21, 2000.

Azerbaijan and Japan are cooperating in different sectors of the economy. Japanese companies in Azerbaijan work in oil and gas as well as in agricultural sectors. During the entire period of cooperation between the two countries, Japan has invested $7.1 billion in Azerbaijan. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $274.8 million in 2021.

It should be also noted that 2022 is the “Year of friendship between Azerbaijan and Japan”.