By Azernews

By Sara Israfilbayova

India is interested in cooperation with the Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO).

Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Sanjay Rana made the remarks at the meeting with Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev.

The Ambassador stressed that India attaches great importance to relations with Azerbaijan. The International North–South Transport Corridor is also of great importance for India, according to him.

Mustafayev, in turn, said that the relations between Azerbaijan and India are at a high level, and noted that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to cooperation with India.

The minister noted the importance of mutual visits and meetings, the importance of the activities of the intergovernmental commission for cooperation in trade, economy, science and technology. The minister also underlined the expansion of cooperation in trade between the two countries and added that about 170 companies with Indian capital operate in Azerbaijan.

It was said that there is a great potential for cooperation in the fields of healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, tourism, information and communication technologies and other spheres, and there are great opportunities for export of non-oil products to Azerbaijan.

India and Azerbaijan enjoy close friendly relations based on historical links and growing bilateral cooperation. India’s ONGC-Videsh is an equity partner in Oil and Gas sector in Azerbaijan. 

India recognized independence of Azerbaijan in December 1991. Diplomatic relations between the states were established in February 1992.

Beyond their cooperation in oil and gas sectors, the two countries are further exploring cooperation in various areas.

India has a strong foothold in the pharmaceutical sector in the global market as Indian products are of good quality and easily affordable. In order to fast-track the cooperation, Azerbaijani authorities since February 2016 have initiated the process of accepting dossiers for registration of Indian pharma products and the final registration of products is under way.

Agriculture is also an area of India-Azerbaijan bilateral cooperation, which has already been highlighted by both the countries. The areas of cooperation in the agricultural sector are: cattle identification, agriculture machinery, plant breeding.

Azerbaijan is also making concerted efforts to develop its food processing sector. Indian manufacturers of processing equipment and machinery should be able to find good opportunities for expanding their presence in Azerbaijan in this area.

In 2017, India’s export to Azerbaijan has grown by more than 60 percent and total bilateral trade between India and Azerbaijan has reached around $460 million.