Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan will host the 7th Azerbaijani-Russian interregional forum this December.

This decision was made at the meeting of Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev with his Russian counterpart Alexey Ulyukaev in Moscow.

During the meeting, Mustafayev said Russia has invested $3 billion in Azerbaijan’s economy so far, adding that Azerbaijan’s investments in the Russian economy exceeded $1 billion.

Azerbaijan and Russia signed more than 170 documents, including over 50 – in the economic sector. Currently, almost 600 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan.

The minister also noted that Azerbaijan and Russia have great potential for the development of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, machine building, pharmaceutics and others.

Mustafayev spoke about the strategic decisions made by the Azerbaijani president to develop entrepreneurship, about various projects implemented in the country, and Azerbaijan’s sustainable economic development.

Speaking about the regional ties, the minister noted the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the main threat for the development of the regional cooperation.

Armenia keeps under occupation 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, ignoring the UN Security Council's four resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied lands.

Ulyukaev, in turn, noted the importance of effective using of the existing opportunities for the development of bilateral relations.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to almost $739.8 million in January-May 2016, $609.6 million of which accounted for the import of Russian products, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.

Azerbaijan and Russia are tied by firmly based ties, which were officially established in 1992. The Azerbaijani-Russian cooperation is completely based on the principles of mutual respect and good neighborly relations. The cultural relations between the two countries are also highly evaluated.

Russia and Azerbaijan established an active and productive dialogue on many important issues in the foreign economic and political agenda.

The southern neighbor is one of the largest importers of Azerbaijani agro-products. The country exports fruits, vegetables and melons to Russia.

After the deterioration of relations with Turkey, Russia’s demand in Azerbaijani agro-products increased. Azerbaijan has entered the top 3 suppliers of agricultural products to Russia among the CIS countries, after Moscow imposed anti-Turkish sanctions.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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