The Economic and Environmental Unit of the OSCE Office in Baku promotes economic development, fosters a sound business enabling environment, and supports Azerbaijan's efforts to enhance its environmental security in accordance with OSCE commitments and related international standards.

Promoting economic good governance

As Azerbaijan's high economic growth rates in recent years have been largely based on the energy sector, the government seeks to achieve more balanced and sustainable economic development and thus puts special emphasis on diversifying the country's economic base. Thus, the Unit tracks economic developments and related legislation, and promotes international best practices for a positive business and investment climate through seminars, assessments and workshops, in co-operation with the Ministry of Economic Development, universities, civil society, and international organizations.

For Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) the Unit provides individual consultations, training sessions, and facilitation of contacts in several regions of Azerbaijan through its two Legal Advice Centres for SMEs in Baku and Sheki. The Centres provide free legal advice and training opportunities to entrepreneurs, and promote a dialogue between authorities and the business community to address obstacles to business, including corruption cases. In support of government efforts to implement legislation on anti-money laundering/ combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), the Unit assists the Financial Monitoring Service under the Central Bank with capacity building on the supervision of suspicious transactions.

On the issue of renewable energy, the Unit also promotes best practices for the legal and regulatory framework through workshops and conferences for policy-makers. The Unit also supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative by assisting civil society organizations enhance their ability to participate actively in the process of increasing the transparency of the oil and gas sector revenues.

Environmental security

Azerbaijan faces a number of environmental challenges, many inherited from the Soviet Union. While some of these challenges are local, others involve neighbouring states, most notably the safety of trans-boundary water resources for drinking and irrigation.

Within the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), the Unit works closely with the Office of the Co-ordinator for Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) as well as with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Ministry of Emergency Situations, civil society and international organizations to promote environmental co-operation and address environment and security challenges.

For example, the Unit facilitates consultations on a new bilateral water agreement between Azerbaijan and Georgia, contributes to water policy dialogues in Azerbaijan, and otherwise assists the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources analyse environmental legislation.

In Zagatala, the Unit supports public participation in water management by supporting a new community-based water basin management council for the Ganykh river basin.

The Unit also works closely with the Ministry of Emergency Situations on oil spills preparedness, response and co-operation.

Further, the Unit supports Azerbaijan’s implementation of the Aarhus Convention, and seeks to create an enabling environment for civil society organizations (CSOs) through the Civic Action for Security and Environment (CASE) programme, which builds capacity and renders financial assistance to CSOs for grassroots initiatives related to environmental protection across Azerbaijan.