Azerbaijani, Uzbek leaders tour joint garment factory boosting regional industry

On July 3, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the Businesstex JV garment factory, an Azerbaijani-Uzbek joint enterprise located in Khankendi, to acquaint themselves with its operations.

The information was shared on the official website of the Azerbaijani presidency, per Caliber.Az.

The factory specialises in the production of a wide range of clothing, including 150 types of men's apparel, 300 types of women's wear, and 150 varieties of children's garments crafted from different fabrics. Looking ahead, the factory plans to expand its output to include men’s shirts, workwear, and military uniforms.

Currently, the facility produces 2,500 units of various knitwear products daily, with the aim of ramping up production to 10,000 units per day. Once at full capacity, 80 per cent of the factory’s output is intended for export to international markets. In its initial phase, the enterprise has created 250 skilled jobs, with total employment expected to rise to 500. The majority of workers are citizens from neighbouring regions who have returned to Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.

The project’s initial investment amounts to 6 million manats ($3.5 million). The enterprise relies on industrial cooperation for its supply of raw materials, utilising local Azerbaijani, Turkish, Uzbek, and Chinese inputs. The Azerbaijan Entrepreneurship Development Fund (AEDF), operating under the Ministry of Economy, provided a concessional loan of 3.5 million manats ($2 million) to support the establishment of the factory. Additionally, the government granted exemptions on VAT and customs duties totalling approximately 640,000 manats ($376,000).

The factory is poised to make a notable contribution to the development of non-oil exports in the region.

It is worth highlighting that the creation of the Khankendi garment factory stemmed from an instruction jointly issued by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan aimed at enhancing bilateral economic and investment cooperation. This enterprise stands as a symbol of the successful partnership between the two nations, opening new avenues for the advancement of Azerbaijan’s light industry and strengthening the traditional bonds of friendship and economic collaboration between Baku and Tashkent.

By Tamilla Hasanova