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By Amina Nazarli

The governments of Azerbaijan and Tajikistan reached an agreement to ban import and sale of goods, produced in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, in Tajikistan.

The agreement, which was reached during the 4th meeting of the Azerbaijani-Tajik intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation in Baku on July 13, also prohibits involvement of Tajik companies in any economic activity in these territories.

For more than two decades 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory has been occupied during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a result of the military aggression by Armenia. Despite four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions Armenia has not yet implemented them.

Azerbaijan considers any activity conducted in the occupied territories as illegal, that’s why country’s friends and partners bypass this territory.

The sides further discussed possibilities of exporting agricultural and industrial products from Azerbaijan to Tajikistan, expanding investment activities in areas of mutual interest and creating joint ventures.

Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev, who is also a co-chair of the commission, noted the successful development of political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries. He reminded that Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have already signed 45 documents on cooperation in various fields.

The minister spoke about the expansion of trade ties between the two countries over the past two years, saying that the trade turnover increased by 91 percent by the end of 2016.

Tajikistan imports alumina and petroleum coke from Azerbaijan for the production of aluminum. Annually Ganja combine produces 420,000 tons of alumina, more than 300,000 tons of which are usually exported to Tajikistan. At the same time, Tajikistan imports pomegranate juice, butter, sugar and agricultural products from Azerbaijan.

Speaking about the transportation projects implemented by Azerbaijan in the region, and the work of Azerbaijani Coordinating Council on Transit Freight, Mustafayev noted that Tajikistan can take advantage of these opportunities.

Transit transport is an important component of trade and economic relations between the countries. One of the important ways for Tajikistan to deliver products to the world market is the corridor of Turkmenbashi-Baku-Poti.

The minister also noted that Tajikistan already uses the services of the first Azerbaijani telecommunications satellite and can also use it to create topographic and cadastral maps and conduct environmental monitoring.

Azerspace-1, launched in 2013, provides a variety of services, such as digital television, data transmission, VSAT multi-service networks, and governmental communications.

A protocol was signed following the meeting of the intergovernmental commission.

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

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