Azernews.Az

By Leman Mammadova

Russia and Azerbaijan have good dynamics of cooperation in many areas of the economy, as well as prospects for their growth.

Azerbaijani-Russian relations are diverse and dynamically developing at bilateral, regional and international levels, said Shahin Mustafayev, Azerbaijani Minister of Economy, at an event dedicated to Russia Day.

He noted that Russia is one of the main economic partners of Azerbaijan.

“Mutual trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia increased by 19 percent in 2018 and reached $2.6 billion. According to the results of the first four months of 2019, the turnover growth was 23 percent,” Mustafayev said.

The minister further added that Russian investments in the economy of Azerbaijan reached $4.5 billion, while Azerbaijani investments in the Russian economy are estimated at $1.2 billion.

“At present, our countries are implementing joint projects in the mechanical engineering, production of agricultural equipment, chemical industry, pharmaceutical production and other areas,” he said.

The minister also touched upon the cooperation in transit and transport sphere.

“One of the main projects in this area is the North-South project, in which transit traffic increased 8 times in 2018 and 2 times in the first quarter of this year,” Mustafayev noted.

He also pointed out the growth in tourism cooperation: “In 2018, about 900,000 Russian citizens visited Azerbaijan and Russia is on the first place in terms of tourist traffic.”

In conclusion, the minister expressed confidence that the Azerbaijan-Russia cooperation will be continuously developed and strengthened with joint efforts.

In turn, Mikhail Bocharnikov, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, said that Azerbaijani-Russian relations are of strategic partnership nature.

He described the constant expansion of economic cooperation, the development of humanitarian and educational projects as a distinctive feature of this partnership.

“We are confident about the future of Azerbaijani-Russian relations,” he stressed.

Bocharnikov also shared his impressions about Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan is a beautiful country. For the year of my work here, I am impressed by the beauty of its nature. I especially want to mention the capital, which impresses with its architecture. I am pleased to work in a country that is close to us and is developing rapidly,” the ambassador said.

Azerbaijan is one of the main economic partners of Russia among the CIS countries and Russia remains one of Azerbaijan’s main foreign trade partners. Interregional cooperation plays an important role in the development of Russian-Azerbaijani trade and economic relations and the increase in trade turnover. Russia ranks first in terms of export of non-oil products from Azerbaijan.

Russia is a strategic partner of Azerbaijan. The legal framework between the countries includes over 180 documents, including about 50 in the economic sphere.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888

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