Photo: Trend News Agency

BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 25. Ecosystems have emerged as a new direction for industrial zones, Nataly Mouravidze, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) country manager for Azerbaijan, said Friday at the second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum in Baku, Trend’s correspondent reports from the event.

Speaking during the panel discussion “Industrial Platforms and Free Economic Zones: Azerbaijan as a Regional Production Hub,” Mouravidze said the EBRD has gained extensive experience from working with various companies and countries as an investor.

“In the past, investors came to build factories, but now they ask completely different questions: ‘Can I expand my operations from this region?’, ‘Can I cover different markets?’, ‘What kind of ecosystem exists?’

“In many countries where we have implemented projects, they became successful when industrial zones stopped viewing themselves solely as industrial zones and transformed into ecosystems bringing together suppliers, buyers and manufacturers. All these components already exist in Azerbaijan,” she said.

The second Azerbaijan International Investment Forum is being held in Baku.

The two-day forum is organized by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy and its subordinate Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO), in strategic partnership with European House – Ambrosetti.

Plenary and panel sessions at the event will address strategic issues including the Middle Corridor, energy and the green transition, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, infrastructure, industry and free economic zones, critical raw materials, agribusiness, financial cooperation, small and medium-sized business development, tourism, real estate and investment in human capital.