Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The Czech companies are considering Azerbaijani market as an alternative to the Russian market amid the western sanctions imposed against Russia due to the Ukraine crisis.

During his upcoming visit to Azerbaijan in early December, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jan Mladek will discuss the issue with the Azerbaijani side. These remarks were made by Azerbaijani Ambassador to the Czech Republic Farid Shafiyev.

He told Trend Agency that the Czech Republic is interested in importing agricultural products from Azerbaijan, in particular fruits and vegetables, as well as wine and confectionery.

The cooperation opportunities in this field were discussed by Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament Vojtech Filip and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture Jaroslav Faltýnek during their recent visit to Azerbaijan.

“Today agriculture is a priority area of the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan,” the diplomat said. “A growing number of the Czech companies are showing interest in cooperation in this field.”

During the upcoming visit to Azerbaijan, Mladek will be accompanied by about 40 representatives of business circles of his country.

President of the Czech Republic Milos Zeman is also expected to pay an official visit to Azerbaijan in February-March. Another meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation is expected to be held in 2015.

Shafiyev went on adding that the Czech government has chosen Azerbaijan as a potential market for its companies and urged them to expand cooperation with the country.

“The Czech government pins great hopes on the great activity of the Czech companies in such areas of Azerbaijan as the construction sector, engineering and transport infrastructure,” the ambassador said.

The diplomat also noted several Czech companies show interest in Azerbaijan’s transport sector. The negotiations are underway on the Czech companies’ participation in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway construction project.

Shafiyev said the Czech companies work in Azerbaijan with a total contract amount of about $1 billion. One contract, namely, the construction of the Baku-Guba highway worth $300 million, has been implemented.

The Czech companies also show interest in participating in the construction of one of the lines of the Baku Metro. The negotiations are underway as well.

“The Czech Republic is also open to Azerbaijani investments,” he said. “Foreign companies, including Azerbaijani ones, show interest in real estate in the Czech Republic, in particular in Karlovy Vary for the last ten years.”

The Czech Republic recognized the independence Azerbaijan on January 8, 1992. Diplomatic relations between two countries were established in January 1993. Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic are interested in future development of mutual cooperation within UN, OSCE, NATO, EU and other international organizations.

Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic cooperate in trade and economic fields. In particular, as of 2013, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to about $1.5 billion. Most of this account for Azerbaijan's exports, in particular, oil. Currently, the primary task is to develop the cooperation between the two countries in the non-oil sector. The agricultural sector is an area with good opportunities for cooperation.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic amounted to $515.51 million in January-September 2014. As of the nine months, Azerbaijan imported goods worth $35.1 million, but exported goods worth $ 480.4 million.