Azerbaijan should develop economic ties with Russia, MP says
By Aynur Karimova
Azerbaijan should further develop economic relations with Russia, since western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis in late 2014 have opened up the huge market for the sale of Azerbaijani products.
This remark was made by Rufat Guliyev, a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament and a member of the Azerbaijani-Russian inter-parliamentary group, on September 17.
He told Trend that the two countries have many common interests, and this is evidenced by a number of factors.
"Multi-faceted economic relations have been established between our countries. Russia is Azerbaijan's largest trade partner in the non-oil sector. This is the largest and most promising market for Azerbaijan in economic terms," the MP noted.
Guliyev went on to add that Azerbaijan enjoys significant opportunities to supply goods to the Russian market, primarily agricultural products.
"In addition, there are many sectors of the national economy that we can promote in Russia. This is tourism in Azerbaijan, which is very interesting for Russian citizens, and many other areas of economic activity," Guliyev stressed.
Foreign countries are now showing an increasing interest in the agricultural products of Azerbaijan, which has focused its efforts on developing the sector, declaring 2015 as the Year of Agriculture.
Agriculture is one of the largest sectors of the country’s economy. It has great potential and attracts both local and foreign entrepreneurs.
High-quality Azerbaijani products have been in demand in neighboring countries for quite some time. However, Azerbaijan did not previously have the capacity to export these products in large quantities.
The most important component of the government strategy on diversification of the Azerbaijani economy is designated to optimizing the structure of non-oil exports, in particular by increasing the volume and range of agricultural products, and improving its competitiveness in foreign markets.
Through Russia, Azerbaijan can enter the Eastern Europe's markets.
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to $ 1.1 billion in January-July 2015, which is 1.85 percent more than in the same period of 2014, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.
To date, Russia has invested over $1.8 billion in Azerbaijan's economy, while Azerbaijan has invested over $1 billion in the Russian economy.
Over 600 companies with Russian capital are operating in Azerbaijan. Gazprom, Lukoil, KAMAZ, and VTB Bank are among these companies.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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