SESRIC and the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBİA) of the Republic of Azerbaijan formalised their partnership through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 8 May 2024 in Ankara.

Signed by H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK and H.E. Orkhan Vidadi oglu MAMMADOV, Chairman of the Management Board of (KOBİA), the MoU aims to set up a framework for cooperation and strengthen collaboration between the two institutions in areas of mutual interest, particularly in supporting economic development and advancing Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs).

During the ceremony, H.E. SELÇUK highlighted SESRIC’s 46 years of experience in serving OIC countries in socio-economic research, statistics, education, and technical cooperation, aligning itself well with KOBİA’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan. She emphasized the crucial role of SMEs in development and employment, constituting 92% of the employment in industrial and services sector establishments in the OIC countries group. H.E. SELÇUK pointed out that enhancing SME capabilities includes providing access to financial resources, improving market knowledge, and fostering advanced entrepreneurship, management skills, and R&D activities. In this perspective, she underlined that the MoU not only strengthens ties with Azerbaijan but also promotes innovative solutions and knowledge sharing.

H.E. MAMMADOV, in turn, expressed KOBİA’s interest in contributing to SESRIC activities by sharing their expertise and good practices with the OIC countries.  He also invited SESRIC to participate and contribute to the Azerbaijan Halal Business and Tourism (AZHAB) Forum, planned to be held in Baku in October 2024. Emphasizing the importance of promoting the Halal sector, H.E. MAMMADOV highlighted the various ways in which their expertise could be leveraged in this critical domain.

The MoU signing ceremony concluded with both parties acknowledging the potential impact of collaboration on promoting economic growth, empowering SMBs among OIC countries, and utilising shared knowledge and expertise to address socioeconomic challenges and to create opportunities for sustainable development.

KOBİA is a Small and Medium Business (SMB) Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan established as a legal entity under the Ministry of Economy, the Agency is authorized to support the development of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the country by providing SMBs with a number of services as well as ensuring coordination and regulation of services rendered by government entities to SMBs.

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