OSCE Office in Baku holds workshops on regional economic development

BAKU, 13 November 2007 - Supporting agricultural development in Azerbaijan's regions is the focus of a series of workshops supported by the OSCE Office in Baku, the first of which began today.

The workshop on challenges for the agriculture sector in the Guba and Khachmaz districts was jointly organized by the OSCE Office in Baku and the Ministry of Economic Development.

"These workshops are very useful as agriculture is one of the most important sectors in the regions in terms of employment and income generation," said Ambassador Jose-Luis Herrero, Head of the OSCE Baku Office at the start of the workshop. "Today's event will contribute to diversification of the economy and improvement of living standards of the rural population, which is one of the key priorities for the Azerbaijani government."

Agricultural producers, buyers, service providers and government representatives are attending the workshop, which aims to facilitate contact between the different participants in the agriculture sector. Issues being discussed at the workshop include market demands for agriculture goods; production and production methods; marketing and logistics; and financing of agriculture production.

Along with Ambassador Herrero, Niyazi Safarov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Rauf Habibov, Head of the Guba Executive Authority, attended the launch event for the workshop.

A similar workshop will take place in Lenkoran on 21 November.