Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan may establish green corridor
By Aynur Karimova
Azerbaijan is interested in establishing green corridors, which remove restrictions on trade, with countries in the region.
The Chairman of Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee, Aydin Aliyev, told journalists on September 8 that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are discussing the establishment of a green corridor to facilitate cargo transshipment between the two countries.
"We have already established a similar corridor with Russia, and we are planning to start official negotiations with Kazakhstan in the near future," he said.
An agreement between the customs services of Azerbaijan and Russia was reached in February 2015, creating conditions for the smooth transit of agricultural products through the green corridor.
Expert Vugar Bayramov believes that the establishment of a green corridor between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will allow Azerbaijan to export non-oil product to the Kazakh market in huge volumes. It, in turn, will pave the way for Azerbaijan to increase the export potential of the non-oil sector and enjoy a fruitful cooperation with Kazakhstan.
He told Azernews that Kazakhstan is an important country for Azerbaijan, given the fact that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan had long been within the USSR and are currently members of the CIS. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have a maritime border and both are Turkic-speaking countries with historical ties.
"If one is to look at the trade turnover trend of the two countries, one can see that this figure amounted to $112 million in 2000, while it reached $393 million in 2012 and $370 million in 2013," the expert said. “Due to global economic difficulties, a decrease in the trade among the CIS countries was observed in 2014. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan amounted to $250 million last year."
Given the fact that the trade turnover between the two countries has doubled in the last 10 years, the establishment of a green corridor between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will pave the way for the expansion of trade relations between the two post-Soviet countries.
"Azerbaijan enjoys an opportunity to export its non-oil products to the Kazakh market. In particular, Kazakhstan has a demand in food products produced in Azerbaijan. In this regard, Azerbaijan can act as one of the exporting countries in meeting this demand," Bayramov noted.
The expert believes that after the establishment of green corridor, an increase in the volumes of Azerbaijan's exports to Kazakhstan will be observed in 2016.
"This corridor will allow the Azerbaijani entrepreneurs to export their products to the Kazakh markets at a low percent and without any obstacle," the expert added.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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