OECD eyes scaling up co-op with Azerbaijan on finding ways to improve SOEs

By Trend

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is exploring opportunities for scaling up its co-operation with Azerbaijan by undertaking an OECD review of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to conduct analysis and provide recommendations on how to improve ownership and governance practices of SOEs, the OECD told Trend.

Azerbaijan participates in several other OECD thematic programmes, networks and projects, such as the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme, the Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Green Action Task Force, and the Support for Improvement in Governance and Management (SIGMA) programme.

Azerbaijan is a member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purpose (GFTEOI) and a Participant in the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Azerbaijan also participates in regional OECD projects implemented with the financial support from the EU, such as EU4Business (GRS), EU4Energy (IEA), EU4Environment (ENV) and EU4Integrity (DAF).

The OECD said it will shortly launch a new round of the Small Business Act for Europe assessment, leading to a new edition of the SME Policy Index for Eastern Partner countries.

"The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool for emerging economies to monitor and evaluate progress in policies that support SMEs. The tool is structured around the ten principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA), providing a wide-range of measures to guide the design and implementation of SME policies. The Index has been developed by the OECD in partnership with the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the European Training Foundation in 2006 and has since been applied to several regions (Western Balkans & Turkey, Eastern Partnership region, Middle East and Africa, as well as Southeast Asia). In 2022-2023, the assessment will be carried out for the fourth time in the Eastern Partnership region, following an initial assessment in 2012, and follow-up assessments in 2016, and in 2020," the organization said.

OECD notes that based on lessons learnt from previous SBA assessments and to capture important changes and emerging trends in the business and policy environment, this cycle aims to broaden the scope of the analysis to cover new topics, such as SME digitalisation and COVID-19 recovery and rescue packages.

"In addition, the OECD is exploring opportunities for scaling up its co-operation with Azerbaijan by undertaking an OECD review of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to conduct analysis and provide recommendations on how to improve ownership and governance practices of SOEs.

OECD reviews on Corporate Governance evaluate the ownership, corporate governance and regulatory arrangements for SOEs in individual countries. They result in country-specific recommendations to better align national practices with the internationally-agreed standards of the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE Guidelines), which contain guidance for ensuring that SOEs operate transparently, efficiently and on a level playing field with private enterprises," the organization said.