Germany expects to boost turnover with Azerbaijan
By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade
For many years, Azerbaijan and Germany have been enjoying mutually beneficial cooperation and today the countries seek to further increase and expand it.
German Ambassador to Azerbaijan Michael Kindsgrab stated at press conference in Baku that Germany is interested in a significant expansion of bilateral relations with Azerbaijan and sees a good prospect for the development of cooperation.
The ambassador noted that bilateral cooperation is developing in plenty of directions.
"Over the past 12 months, bilateral cooperation between our countries has noticeably intensified. In 2018, the trade turnover between Germany and Azerbaijan reached $1.4 billion and there is every reason to believe that this figure will continue to rise,” Kindsgrab said, adding that along with trade and economy, the scientific and cultural spheres are also intensively developing.
The ambassador said that Azerbaijan is Germany’s most important economic partner in the South Caucasus.
“Germany fully supports the implementation of the South Gas Corridor project and welcomes the fact that Azerbaijan acts as a guarantor of Europe’s energy security. Azerbaijan is currently implementing a competent policy of diversifying the economy and Germany is interested in that,” Kindsgrab emphasized.
Further, the ambassador said that the delegation of the Germany-South Caucasus interparliamentary friendship group will visit Azerbaijan at the end of May. He noted that the delegation will be headed by the Chairman of the friendship group, Johannes Kahrs.
Kindsgrab stressed that Germany attaches great importance to the further strengthening and intensification of ties between Azerbaijan and EU.
Last year, Azerbaijan’s share among Germany’s partners in the South Caucasus was 70 percent. The trade turnover between the countries increased by 61 percent and reached $1.4 billion in 2018, of which about $780 million accounted for the export of Azerbaijani products and $660 million - for the import of German goods.
Oil and oil products constitute the main share of Azerbaijan's exports to Germany. Last year, SOCAR supplied over 2.2 million tons of crude oil to Germany.
Currently, about 154 companies with German capital operate in Azerbaijan. German companies invested $570 million in the Azerbaijani economy, most of which was directed to the non-oil sector.
Germany is presently negotiating the issues on the supply of hazelnuts, pomegranates, juices, wine and canned products from Azerbaijan, and is also interested in the import of chemical products.
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Mirsaid Ibrahimzade is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MirsaidIbrahim1
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