Azerbaijan, Japan eye bilateral co-op prospects
By Ayya Lmahamad
Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and Japanese ambassador Junichi Wada have discussed prospects of bilateral partnership between the two countries.
At their meeting, the parties stressed the importance of developing Azerbaijani-Japanese trade relations.
Noting that Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the development of ties with Japan, the minister noted that bilateral economic cooperation is expanding.
Jabbarov mentioned that the application of the digital economy and technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, the exchange of experience in digitalization, energy, and other areas are among the priorities of the cooperation.
The parties stated that the projects on the creation of the Azerbaijan Trade House in Tokyo and Japan Premium House in Baku will make a significant contribution to the development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.
It was noted that the organization of business forums, trade missions, as well as participation in exhibitions, can be favorable mechanisms for establishing direct contacts between business circles and developing cooperation.
In turn, the ambassador shared his views on the events to be held within the "Year of Friendship between Azerbaijan and Japan 2022" and expressed confidence in further strengthening of bilateral relations.
The sides agreed to accelerate the signing of the agreement on attraction and protection of investments between the countries and the new convention on the elimination of double taxation. They also discussed energy, including green energy, and environmental projects and cooperation.
Currently, Azerbaijan and Japan are cooperating in different fields of economy. Japanese companies in Azerbaijan work in the fields of oil and gas as well as agriculture. Last year the trade turnover between the two countries exceeded $200 million and the growth of this sector is forecasted to increase up to four times in the near future. In addition, Japan has invested $7.1 billion in Azerbaijan, during the entire period of cooperation between the two countries.
It should be also noted that 2022 will be the “year of friendship between Azerbaijan and Japan”.
Additionally, earlier this year, Azerbaijan’s Energy Ministry and Japan’s TEPSCO company signed an agreement on the establishment of the “green energy” zone in the newly-liberated territories. The agreement envisages the effective use of renewable energy potential such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and bioenergy in the liberated territories. It considers the establishment of a “green energy” zone based on modern energy management approaches in order to realize the energy supply of the region.
The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $228.1 million in the first 10 months of 2021.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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