Azerbaijani, Russian agencies ink MoU to expand economic co-op

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan's Agency for Small and Medium-sized Business Development and the Russian Export Center has signed a memorandum of understanding.

The memorandum was signed by the Agency's Board Chairman Orkhan Mammadov and the Center's Director-General Veronika Nikishina during a business mission of Russian companies for the development of the “smart city” urban infrastructure in Baku, on November 17.

The document envisages the expansion of cooperation in SMBs, the exchange of information on export and industrial sectors, and the organization of joint events, Mammadov wrote on his official Twitter page.

Azerbaijan and Russia have mutual cooperation in different fields, such as economy, agriculture, customs, communications, high technology, and others. More than 230 intergovernmental and intercompany documents have been signed between the two countries and six "road maps" are being implemented.

Earlier this year Azerbaijan participated in a number of international exhibitions held in Russia. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to $2.6 billion in 2020, making Russia Azerbaijan’s third-largest partner. Additionally, Azerbaijan is a major supplier of fruits and vegetables to Russia. The country ranked first in supplies of fresh and chilled tomatoes.

Russia also played a prominent role in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict resolution. The trilateral peace deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the 30-year conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Azerbaijan’s Karabakh that along with seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the 1990s.