Azerbaijan, Serbia set to boost customs co-op
By Ayya Lmahamad
Azerbaijan and Serbia have discussed prospects of cooperation between the customs bodies as well as economic-commercial relations.
During the meeting held with Serbian Ambassador Dragan Vladisavljevic, Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee Chairman Safar Mehdiyev emphasized the important role of customs authorities in the development of trade and economic relations between the two countries.
Mehdiyev noted that Azerbaijani customs are implementing projects based on information technologies to develop international trade and transit, speed up border crossing processes and simplify customs operations, using the best international practices.
Furthermore, referring to the "green corridor" system, which has been in operation since 2019, the committee’s chairman noted that over 700 business entities have taken advantage of this system. He stated that about $8 billion of total import-export transactions in 2020 were accounted for by business entities that are eligible to use the system.
Stressing the need to further strengthen the existing ties between the customs authorities of the two countries, he added that steps to be taken in this direction will create favorable conditions for increasing mutual trade turnover.
In turn, the ambassador underlined the importance of further development of trade and economic relations between the two countries. In addition, he expressed hope that customs authorities will make an important contribution to business and effective cooperation.
Additionally, the parties discussed a number of other issues of mutual interest.
It should be noted that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Serbia amounted to $9 million in 2020, while this figure was $4.4 million in the first five months of 2021.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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