Azerbaijan, Russia ink several cooperation accords

By Azernews

Azerbaijan and Russia have signed a number of documents as part of a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, local news sources have reported.

Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk signed the minutes of the 20th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Russia Intergovernmental Commission. They also signed a memorandum of cooperation in the field of pensions.

Moreover, the Azerbaijani Small and Medium Business Development Agency and the Russian Federal Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises signed a memorandum of intent.

Helicopter plant

Speaking at the meeting, Shahin Mustafayev stated that a helicopter plant built jointly with Russia may be launched in Azerbaijan in the third quarter of 2022. 

Noting that there are plans to increase the supply of mineral fertilizers and wheat from Russia to Azerbaijan, he stated that the Agroexpress project is promising and will contribute to the food safety of the two countries.

He mentioned that Azerbaijan and Russia have reached a number of agreements on cooperation, adding that a strategic level of interaction in several directions has been reached. Mustafayev recalled that there are eight road maps under which Azerbaijan and Russia are working in the areas of trade, transport, and investments.

"Russia is Azerbaijan's third-largest trade partner. The positive dynamics of trade turnover will allow reaching a more significant growth, as evidenced by the indicators of the first quarter," he said.

He added that Azerbaijan invested more than $1.2 billion in the Russian economy and Russia invested more than $6 billion.

"We are creating all conditions for Russian investors to feel comfortable here," he said.

Energy infrastructure

Alexei Overchuk said that Russia can assist Azerbaijan in modernizing its energy infrastructure. He noted that a feasibility study of the project to link power systems of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran is ongoing.

"In addition, we are ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan in the field of the non-energy atom. This year we will have another good reason to meet at the 11th Russian-Azerbaijani interregional forum in Azerbaijan," he said.

Overchuk noted that the close and result-oriented dialogue within the framework of the intergovernmental commission will promote the solution of strategic tasks, including stabilization of the situation in the South Caucasus.

KAMAZ plant in Karabakh

Moreover, Alexei Overchuk stated that it is planned that a plant of KAMAZ will be commissioned in Karabakh in the second quarter of 2022.

Noting that the parties will continue to work on the development of trade and economic cooperation, he emphasized that during this year, Russia and Azerbaijan will hold a number of events that will affect various spheres of activity.

"It is necessary to continue to work actively within the framework of the North-South ITC. It is planned to complete in the fourth quarter of 2022 the reconstruction of the border crossing on the Russian side on the border with Azerbaijan, as well as to increase the number of throughput lanes," he said.

The deputy prime minister mentioned that a huge number of Russian companies operate in Azerbaijan in a number of sectors. He also emphasized the importance of maintaining stable cooperation in the energy sector.

"We are ready to cooperate in the energy sector, Russia has great experience in this direction," he said.

Azerbaijan and Russia collaborate in a variety of fields, including economy, agriculture, customs, communications, high technology, and others. Azerbaijani investments in Russia's economy have exceeded $1.2 billion, with the majority of these investments being in the non-oil sector. In addition, Russian investments in Azerbaijan's economy totaled $6.3 billion, with $5 billion invested in the oil sector and $1.3 billion invested in non-oil sectors. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to $2.9 billion in 2021, making Russia Azerbaijan’s third-largest partner.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a Declaration on "Allied Interaction between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation" on February 22. 

The declaration aims to raise Azerbaijan-Russia bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level - that of allied relations.

The parties agree to promote cooperation in the political, economic, defense, cultural, humanitarian, educational, and social spheres, as well as healthcare, youth cooperation, and sports, based on mutual historical traditions of friendship and good neighborliness, as well as deep cultural and humanitarian ties.