Azerbaijan, Russia eye expanding trade, investment ties

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Economy Minister Elnur Aliyev has said that one of the main directions of Azerbaijani-Russian relations is mutual trade and comprehensive measures are taken to expand cooperation in this sphere.

He made the remarks during an online joint meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian and Russian-Azerbaijani business councils. 

The deputy minister underlined that these measures include the opening of Azerbaijan’s trade mission in Russia, a representative office of the Russian Export Centre in Baku, ongoing mutual trade missions, international exhibitions to be held in Azerbaijan and Russia with the participation of companies from both countries, and the implementation of joint projects.

Stressing the importance of high-level meetings in the development of bilateral relations, he noted that more than 1,000 Russian companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan.

Moreover, Aliyev noted Azerbaijan’s interest in expanding trade and investment relations with Russia. He also emphasized the role of the Azerbaijani-Russian and the Russian-Azerbaijani business councils in stimulating business initiatives, developing cooperation between the business circles, and establishing new partnerships.

In turn,  Russian Deputy Economy Minister Dmitry Volvach emphasized that Russia attaches great importance to relations with Azerbaijan and noted that trade and economic relations between the two countries are developing.

He underlined that there are great opportunities for cooperation in the agriculture, transport, industrial and other spheres. Volvach called on the business councils of the two countries to actively cooperate.

Furthermore, Azerbaijani-Russian Business Council’s Chairman Samad Gurbanov noted that Russia is one of the main strategic and trade-economic partners of Azerbaijan. He briefed the participants on the council’s work in establishing connections between businessmen, expanding the dialogue between business circles and government agencies, and exploring new opportunities for cooperation.

Likewise, Russian-Azerbaijani Business Council Chairman Alexey Repik noted cooperation between the two countries in trade, investment, and other spheres and stressed the successful implementation of a number of projects by Azerbaijani businessmen in Russia. In addition, he expressed an opinion on the directions of economic cooperation.

Representatives of relevant government agencies of both countries, as well as businessmen, spoke at the meeting about the business and investment environment of Azerbaijan and Russia.

Additionally, the parties discussed expanding the economic partnership.

The online event was attended by officials from both sides, and representatives of about 100 companies working in the industrial, construction, agriculture, textile, banking, food, logistics and other sectors.

Azerbaijan increased its trade with Russia by $11.2 million, bringing the volume to $585.2 million in the first quarter of 2021. Of the total turnover, the export of Azerbaijani products to Russia amounted to $135.3 million, while the import from Russia to $449.8 million. Russia was Azerbaijan's main trade partner among the CIS countries and also Azerbaijan's third-largest trade partner during the reported period.