Azerbaijani-Croatian economic forum in Baku

As part of the official visit of the Croatian delegation, the Azerbaijani-Croatian economic forum was held. The Croatian Chamber of Economy organized visit of 14 Croatian companies. Companies had the chance for B2B meetings. They met with 40 institutions and companies from Azerbaijan.

This economic forum aims to continue cooperation in energy sector. It also aims to improve cooperation in mechanical engineering, ICT, and the food industry. Croatian companies are looking for new business partners in Azerbaijan with the aim to conclude business agreements, projects’ cooperation, as well as the exchange of goods and services to strengthen bilateral relations," said Silva Stipić Kobali, director of the Business Internationalization Centre at HGK.
Azerbaijan has many natural resources, mainly oil and natural gas. They support its economy grow. But, in recent years, the country has worked to strengthen other economic sectors. Business meetings can enable Croatian companies to access these resources through cooperation with Azerbaijani partners.

"Economic ties between our countries are strong, but we also seek to deepen our cultural ties. The significance of this business forum cannot be emphasized enough as it paves the way for new projects and programs between our private sectors," said Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Culture, Farid Jafarov.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Azerbaijan Branko Zebić and the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Croatia Anar Imanov agreed that there are potentials for cooperation in the trade, investment, agriculture and energy sectors. They emphasized that events like this forum are important. They can strengthen business cooperation. The talks were aimed at expanding and deepening bilateral relations between the two countries.
Trade between Croatia and Azerbaijan was worth 763 million dollars until November 2023. This is a drop of almost 40% from the same period in 2022. Still, the largest part is the Croatian import of energy products from Azerbaijan.