Baku forum to discuss cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council
By Amina Nazarli
Baku will host a forum devoted to the strategic and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The forum scheduled for the first half of 2017 will allow to develop the mutually beneficial cooperation in economy, trade, investment, energy, tourism, agriculture, food security, transport, culture, as well to create and promote joint projects in these spheres, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend.
High-ranking officials of various ministries of the Gulf countries, representatives of private companies, financial institutions and funds are expected to participate in the Baku forum.
The Gulf Cooperation Council was formed in 1981, and mainly aimed at cooperation and integration in economy, culture, as well as in the social sphere.
The trade turnover of Azerbaijan with the Persian Gulf counties amounted to almost $192 million in January-August 2016, compared to $250.3 million during the same period of last year, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.
Huge oil and gas reserves, among other things, make the Arabian
Gulf region including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates one of the most strategically
important places in the world.
Being part of the Islamic world and sharing the progressive
heritage and spiritual values of Islamic civilization, Azerbaijan
attaches great importance to developing relations with the Islamic
countries, and the Gulf states in particular.
Alongside very strong political ties, numerous opportunities for expanding economic cooperation exist between these countries.
Overall, in the first half of 2016, Azerbaijan was visited by 25,000 tourists from Arab countries, while the figure approximately 22,000 people or eight times more than in the same period of last year.
The main reason for the rising number of Arab tourists is the introduction of a simplified visa regime from this year for citizens of Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and other countries.
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