Baku, Bucharest eye bilateral co-op prospects

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan’s Labour and Social Security Minister Sahil Babayev and Romania’s Energy Minister Virgil Popescu have discussed future directions of bilateral cooperation.

During the meeting, Babayev noted that Romania was one of the first countries to recognize the state independence of Azerbaijan. He stressed that relations between the two countries are developing on the basis of strategic partnership from year to year.

Speaking about Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War, the minister mentioned that large-scale reconstruction works are currently underway in the country’s liberated lands.

Moreover, noting the activities of the joint commission on trade-economic ties and scientific-technical cooperation between Azerbaijan and Romania, Babayev stressed the great potential for the development of cooperation, including trade relations.

In this regard, he noted the positive results of the 5th meeting of the commission which took place in November 2018 in Bucharest, Romania.

In turn, Popescu expressed satisfaction with the active political dialogue between the two countries and the work being done to expand ties in various areas of the economy.

He underlined that Romania attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with Azerbaijan.

The parties noted that more than 60 documents on cooperation between Azerbaijan and Romania had been signed. The drafts of new documents on cooperation were also discussed.

They highlighted that the two countries have the potential for active cooperation in the field of labour, employment and social protection.

It was noted that the draft "protocol on cooperation between Azerbaijan’s Labour and Social Security Ministry and Romania’s Labour Justice Ministry " is among the new draft documents on cooperation.

It should be noted that Romanian ambassador Vasile Soare also attended the meeting.

Azerbaijan and Romania are cooperating in various spheres of the economy. SOCAR operates in Romania through SOCAR Petroleum SA, established in 2011, and owns SOCAR- branded petrol stations in 26 regions of Romania.

The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $215.5 million in 2021, with exports amounting to $120.5 million, and imports to $94.9 million.