Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan and Poland signed a document on cooperation in a number of fields in conclusion of a meeting of the two countries' intergovernmental commission in Warsaw on Tuesday. The protocol defines tasks on the development of Azerbaijan-Poland collaboration in the energy, transport, agriculture, tourism, and banking sectors.

The Azerbaijani delegation, which was led by Industry and Energy Minister Natig Aliyev, co-chairman of the two countries' commission on economic cooperation, and included Azerbaijani ministries' representatives, and about 20 businessmen, took part in the intergovernmental commission meeting and an Azerbaijani-Polish business forum held in the frame of the meeting, the Azerbaijani embassy in Poland said Tuesday.

A presentation on favorable business environment in Azerbaijan was made during the business forum. A memorandum on the cooperation between Azerbaijani company Caspian Service and Polish Ulma Construction was signed.

Diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Poland were established in February 1992. The Polish embassy was opened in Azerbaijan in 2001 and the Azerbaijani embassy in Poland was established in 2004.

Mutual presidential visits have been paid since 1997. In 2008, for the first time in the history of its economic relations with Poland, Azerbaijan gained a trade surplus, and the turnover of goods between the two countries reached $166.9 million. Oil and oil products dominate the goods exported from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani-Polish relations are at a strategic level. Expanding the current relations with Poland, which is member of NATO, the European Union and other influential international organizations, is of particular importance for Azerbaijan. Warsaw supports Azerbaijan in the settlement of its long-standing conflict with Armenia within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and standards of international law.