Finland can help Azerbaijan in diversifying economy away from oil and gas – ministry

By Trend

Finland has a lot to offer as Azerbaijan is seeking to diversify its economy away from the dominant oil and gas sector, Sirpa Oksanen, Director, Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Department for Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland told Trend.

There is plenty of unused potential in our trade relations and we hope to diversify and increase our bilateral trade further with Azerbaijan, she said.

"As Finland is one of the greenest countries in the world, we are in a perfect position to drive sustainable development globally. For Finland, a circular bioeconomy is a tool for achieving sustainable development, combatting climate change, saving natural resources, and improving the state of the environment, all while generating economic growth and jobs. Green, Smart and Sustainable reconstruction of Azerbaijan’s economy could open opportunities for cooperation and trade," said Oksanen.

Finland is also pleased about a Twinning project led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute developing the Environmental Monitoring System in Azerbaijan.

"This joint project enables us to develop bilateral relations in environmental and cleantech sectors. The latest opening since autumn 2020 is the Twinning project by the Statistics Finland with the State Statistical Committee and the State Tax Service in Azerbaijan to strengthen collection, harmonization, analysis and dissemination of business-related statistics. Finnish experts would be interested in participating in further Twinning projects. In the future, we would also like to see further use of the EU’s TAIEX instrument to conduct short-term technical assistance visits between Finland and Azerbaijan," she added.