Azernews.Az

By Gunay Hasanova

The delegation headed by the deputy of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of Azerbaijan, the head of the parliamentary friendship group Azerbaijan-Australia Khanlar Fatiyev visited the War Memorial in Canberra and put a wreath to it.

The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliamentary Committee on International relations Samad Seyidov, Chairman of the Democratic Reforms Party Asim Mollazadeh, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Australia Rovshan Jamshid and Honorary consul of Azerbaijan to Australia Aidan Rzayeva.

In addition, the delegation visited the monument erected in memory of the founder of the Turkish Republic Ataturk.

On the same day, the delegation met with the Minister of Trade and Investment of Australia Steven Chiobo.

Speaking at the meeting Khanlar Fatiyev noted the readiness of the inter-parliamentary friendship group to provide the necessary assistance to the development of business between the two countries.

He called on businesses of the two countries to interact closely through their Ministries of Economy.

Steven Chiobo noted that the Australian Trade Commission can make a major contribution to the expansion of economic ties between the two countries

He mentioned agriculture, food production, mutual investment and transport as the promising areas between Azerbaijan and Australia.

Such topics as visa procedures, exchange of students, expansion of bilateral ties, settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and cooperation in humanitarian, tourism, agricultural and other spheres were discussed at the meeting with the deputy minister of immigration and protection of the Australian borders, Alex Hawke.

Moreover, the Australian side, which was provided with detailed information about the Azerbaijani University ADA, showed a great interest in terms of cooperation with that institution.

Azerbaijan’s Honorary Consulate is expected to be opened in the Australian city of Perth – the biggest city and capital of the Western Australia.

The Azerbaijani delegation will attend the opening of the Honorary Consulate.

The Australian Embassy in Ankara is accredited to Azerbaijan representing Australia's foreign policy, trade, consular, immigration and other interests in Azerbaijan.

The two countries also cooperate through a working group on inter-parliamentary relations, which was established in the Azerbaijani parliament in 2011.

The economic development and innovation in Australasia and Oceania are of special interest to Azerbaijan, especially in the times of the economic diversification.

Azerbaijani officials always highlight the unique geographical location of Azerbaijan that can create substantial benefits to Australia and even help Australia access the benefits of trade on the Great Silk Road, in which Azerbaijan is already a focal point.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Australia stood at $4.937 million as of 2014, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.

The trade turnover between the two countries is made up mostly of Azerbaijan's exports of crude petroleum to Australia.

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Gunay Hasanova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @gunhasanova

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