The results of the UN’s 2025 “Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation” have been announced.
The survey, based on foreign trade reforms carried out in the Asia-Pacific region between 2023 and 2025, shows that Azerbaijan has achieved a high result, with a score of 92.5%, ranking among the top ten in the region for the overall indicators of trade facilitation. These five areas include transparency, formal procedures, institutional cooperation and coordination, and paperless trade.
According to Nijat Hajizade, head of the Department of the Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication (CAERC), Azerbaijan demonstrated exceptional results with a score of 100% for transparency, 92.59% for paperless trade, and 72.2% for cross-border paperless trade, achieving significantly high performance.
The survey also shows that, compared to 2015, Azerbaijan has advanced by 53.3 percentage points in transparency, 50 percentage points in formal procedures, 33.3 percentage points in institutional cooperation and coordination, 37 percentage points in paperless trade, and 50 percentage points in cross-border paperless trade. In comparison to 2023, these indicators have increased by 8.3, 11.1, 3.7, and 5.6 percentage points respectively.
Overall, the research demonstrates Azerbaijan’s continuous improvement in these indicators from 2015 to 2025.
With this outstanding performance, Azerbaijan ranks seventh in the Asia-Pacific region for trade facilitation and is the leader among landlocked developing countries in Central and Northern Asia. Furthermore, Azerbaijan ranks second among countries located along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, after China.
Key factors contributing to this achievement include the electronic management and traceability of foreign trade procedures, the online publication of all import and export rules, tariffs, procedures, and documents on official websites or portals, as well as consultations with business associations and other stakeholders when new trade rules or customs procedures are introduced. Additionally, Azerbaijan’s 100% performance in transparency, which allows entrepreneurs to obtain official written decisions on tariff rates and origin before importing, is a result of the effective communication of reforms in trade liberalization and the digitization of customs procedures in recent years.
The second component of the survey, “Formal Procedures,” includes the classical customs procedures that entrepreneurs regularly face, such as risk-based inspection of goods, submission and preliminary examination of customs declarations before goods arrive, official clearance, and calculation of duties, simplified customs procedures, and expedited customs clearance for priority goods. Azerbaijan’s achievement of 100% in this category is a result of targeted reforms in customs inspections, fast-tracking goods at border checkpoints, and improving inspector-entrepreneur relationships.
The third component, “Institutional Mechanisms and Cooperation,” involves the quality of the management framework of the responsible government institutions facilitating continuous and uninterrupted trade. Measures, such as the establishment of a national trade facilitation committee, the legal framework for customs and border cooperation, and the alignment of working days and hours, and customs rules with neighboring countries, are part of the efforts implemented by the State Customs Committee under legislation.
Azerbaijan’s position in the “Paperless Trade” category has improved by 37.03 percentage points since 2015, reaching 92.6%. This improvement reflects the electronic implementation of foreign trade procedures and the reduction of physical requests. Azerbaijan’s achievements in this category include the Automated Customs System, the sharing of information and operations between customs and border services via the internet, the implementation of customs procedures through a unified electronic portal, the submission of customs declarations electronically, and the issuance and transmission of import and export permits electronically.
The last category, “Cross-border Paperless Trade,” includes the legal and regulatory framework for electronic transactions, including electronic signatures and approvals, the exchange of customs declarations and certificates of origin, and sanitary and phytosanitary certificates between customs authorities of different countries.
This survey encompasses regional and global initiatives, such as the “Trade Facilitation Agreement” under the World Trade Organization, the “Framework Agreement on Cross-border Paperless Trade Facilitation in the Asia-Pacific Region,” and other developments related to paperless or electronic trade.
Ayxan Qadashov, head of the “Azexport.az” portal, stated that Azerbaijan’s leadership in the 2025 UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation can also be attributed to the digital solutions implemented by “Azexport,” including the “Virtual Exhibition Hall,” digital certification options, and integration with global e-commerce platforms like “Alibaba” and “Amazon.”
The “Azexport.az” portal has received nearly 50,000 orders from over 150 countries, expanding its export geography and increasing the recognition of “Made in Azerbaijan” products by 2500 times on international digital platforms. The portal’s activities have been highly praised in official documents from the European Union’s “EU4Digital” initiative, the “Alibaba” platform, the Organization of Turkic States, and the United Nations, and it has been recommended as a best practice for study and application in other countries.
