On October 10, with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park LLC and the Research Institute for Economic Reforms, an international Conference Application of Standards: Azerbaijani-Turkish Cooperation was held in Baku.

Along with representatives of the relevant state bodies of Azerbaijan and Turkey, businessmen of both countries took part in the conference.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Economy Niyazi Safarov emphasized implementation of consistent and systematic reforms under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to modernize the industry, diversify and develop the non-oil industry based on innovations. It was noted that program documents were adopted in this area and incentive mechanisms were applied to improve the business and investment climate and support entrepreneurial activity.

Niyazi Safarov provided information on the industrialization policy pursued in Azerbaijan, industrial parks and quarters that have new mechanisms in this area. It was noted that 82 residents have been registered in industrial zones, and 45 production facilities are already operating. Until today, up to 3.4 billion USD have been invested in industrial zones, and 11 000 jobs have been created.

In addition, 346 entrepreneurial entities have been issued 407 investment incentive documents to date, and 245 enterprises with investment value of more than 2.5 billion manats are already operating.

Speaking about the Azerbaijani-Turkish economic cooperation, Niyazi Safarov reported on successful cooperation with Turkey in various fields, including standardization. Noting the role of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in this area, the Deputy Minister emphasized that since the beginning of 2019, 32 projects have been implemented and work on 13 projects is underway.

It was emphasized at the event that reforms in the field of harmonization of national standards with international requirements, technical regulation and standardization contribute to improving the quality of products and services and more convenient export to foreign markets.

Hasan Buyukdede, Deputy Minister of Science, Industry and Technology of Turkey, noted the achievement of Turkey’s relations with friendly and fraternal Azerbaijan of the level of strategic partnership and the favourable conditions created in both countries to further expand economic cooperation. Hasan Buyukdede shared his views on the impact of the process of adaptation to international standards on industrial development, cooperation in the organization of industrial enterprises with a justification to international standards.

Chairman of the Board of the Turkish Institute of Standards Adem Shahin reported on the work carried out by the Institute to bring national standards and procedures in Turkey in line with modern international practice.

The coordinator of the Baku Office of the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA) Teoman Tiryaki spoke about the projects implemented in Azerbaijan with the support of the Agency.

Then, the presentation of the director of the Turkish Institute of Standards Feyzullah Erdogan on the topic Adaptation of National Standards to International Standards and the Impact on Industrial Development was heard.

Director of Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park LLC Nazim Talibov spoke about the industrial parks operating in the country, the favorable conditions for entrepreneurs created there, the modern infrastructure, and preferential treatment applied towards investors. Nazim Talibov reported on the trainings held as part of the cooperation of the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park with TIKA and the Turkish Institute of Standards on application of a quality management and energy management system, as well as preparation of documents according to international standards, and noted that employees of Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park LLC and residents of industrial parks took part in the trainings.

The Acting Director of the Research Institute for Economic Reforms, Arzu Huseynova, emphasized the cooperation with TIKA and the Turkish Institute of Standards for implementation of international standards in the field of quality management and energy efficiency and spoke about the work done.

Videos on the activities of industrial parks and the Turkish Institute of Standards in Azerbaijan were demonstrated at the event.

The Protocol on Trilateral Cooperation between the Turkish Institute of Standards, Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park LLC and the Research Institute for Economic Reforms was signed at the conference.

In conclusion, the participants who successfully completed the training of the Turkish Institute of Standards on the application of ISO 9001:2015 standards at the Research Institute of Economic Reforms of the Ministry of Economy and ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 50001:2018 at Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park LLC were awarded certificates.