Azernews.Az

The European Union's envoy to Azerbaijan Alan Waddams has cited vast opportunities for exporting a host of the country's goods to Europe's markets.
Such commodities, he said, included carpets, wine, agricultural and industrial goods. "But for this to be possible, first of all, those goods should be of high quality."
Waddams said there were 500 million people with high purchasing power in the 27-member EU and European markets were open for Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan currently exports mainly natural resources to the EU countries.
He emphasized that Baku should outline priorities in its cooperation with the EU on its own. Azerbaijan should develop its bilateral economic relations with the union's member states, and special attention should be paid to the development of the country's agriculture and tourism sectors.
The ambassador said gaining access to European markets was very easy. At times, commodities are even traded without levying duties.
"Certainly, it is necessary to meet high standards to achieve considerable sales in Europe. This lies at the core of our cooperation with Azerbaijan. We are working to bring the country's national standards into compliance with those of Europe," Waddams said.
The envoy said the climate for investments in Azerbaijan was very complex and red tape obstacles were in place. Nonetheless, he welcomed the work being done by the Economic Development Ministry in this area, citing as an example the application of the "one window" system which aims to simplify business start-up and improve conditions for entrepreneurship.
Waddams added that collaboration with Europe opens up tremendous opportunities for Azerbaijan that should be capitalized upon.