Doing Business In Azerbaijan

Seminar at the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, New Delhi, 20th January 2023

Expand WWide, a consultancy entity specializing in helping Indian businesses expand overseas, joined hands with Vibgyor Marvels, a collaborative platform which brings together over 120 firms, businesses, organizations and domain experts to assist businesses in collaborating and pooling their individual resources to bid for projects and businesses in India and abroad, to partner with the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in New Delhi for the Seminar on “Doing Business in Azerbaijan” on 20th January 2023.

This business exploration and promotion effort which was initiated in early 2020 and subsequently overtaken by Covid-19 restrictions and other issues, has been re-launched by the Azerbaijan Embassy to expand the country’s economic and commercial footprint in India.

About fifteen companies, entities and experts participated in the Seminar, which was focused on a few areas where business – trade, services and investments – between Azerbaijan and India, has the greatest potential for expansion and diversification. These are Food & Agro Commodities; Technical and Non-Technical Oilfield Supplies & Services; Machinery and Equipment; Wind, Solar & Biomass Energy; Medicines & Pharmaceutical items; IT/ITES; Tourism; Logistics; and Education. Investments from India to Azerbaijan and vice versa and infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan were also discussed at the seminar.

Following a presentation by H.E. Dr. Ashraf Shikhaliyev, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to India, former Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr. Debnath Shaw also shared his views and insights. Both speakers emphasized the need for Indian businesses to take advantage of the positive winds in bilateral trade and investments and make a greater effort to build on these identified areas of mutual trade and to participate in Azerbaijan’s nation-building efforts through massive investments in infrastructure and service projects, including roads, railways, power, water supply and sanitation, and renewable energy production, particularly from wind, sun and biomass sources, and green and smart city and village projects and IT/ITES development in Azerbaijan. Indian firms were urged to take the lead shown by OVL in investing in Azerbaijan’s energy sector and look favorably at investment projects in the country.

The large, medium and small companies present at the event, included RITES, EIL, NBCC, Shapoorji Pallonji, Trikausch Group, Sanmarg Projects, Shristi Softech, Dimension Next Infocomm, Krimco International, Anecdotes/Journey Mart, technology transfer experts, etc, felt that the event was an eye opener to a new and hitherto largely unexplored region of great business potential, for Indian firms, consultants and EPC contractors. Many of them are considering joining a planned Business Exploration Delegation Visit to Azerbaijan in the near future.