Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Dutch companies are ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan in various fields, Dutch Ambassador to Baku Onno Kerversin told reporters on April 27.

"This year we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands. Bilateral relations between our countries are well developed. In particular, over the past years, we have developed a good communication in the economic sphere," Kerversin said.

The Azerbaijani-Dutch business network, the basis of which was laid last year, has become very useful from the point of view of developing trade relations between the two countries, according to him.

"The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of food products, and has the most developed agricultural sector in the world. This fact fully corresponds to Azerbaijan's intention to diversify its economy, which is an important issue for agriculture," the ambassador said.

Agricultural sector of Netherlands is a global leader in terms of innovation and volume. The country generates some 7.5% of global exports in agricultural and food products, surpassed only by the U.S., while the figure is considered to be the sign of overwhelming performance for such a small country.

The diplomat also noted that the Netherlands is acting as a partner of Azerbaijan at the Caspian Agricultural Exhibition scheduled for May 17-19.

"At the same time, Dutch companies are ready to cooperate with Azerbaijani companies in other areas. They actively carry out activities in the energy, environmental, shipbuilding, port construction, water management, petrochemical industry, logistics and education. The development of our relations extends not only to the economic, but also to the cultural, educational, sports and scientific spheres," the ambassador said.

Trade with the Netherlands and the presence of Dutch companies in Azerbaijan has so far been limited, and mainly associated with the oil and gas industry and port development. But, in recent years, a number of projects have been set up with Dutch business in the agricultural sector.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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