Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan supplied over 300,000 tons of oil and oil products to Poland in the first half of 2010, Azerbaijani Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev said Wednesday.

The resource-rich South Caucasus republic has been delivering 220,000 tons of oil per year to the country since 2008.

Addressing a joint business forum in Baku, Aliyev also said there were vast opportunities to develop Azerbaijani-Polish relations in the fields of agriculture, healthcare, light industry, and tourism.

Azerbaijan also made proposals on cooperation in the transport sector, including opening a flight from Warsaw to Baku, and on increasing cargo transportation by railway and road.

"Poland is vigorously developing its tourism sector, but the lack of a direct flight between Warsaw and Baku creates certain problems for Azerbaijani tourists," the minister said.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Waldemar Pawlak called upon Azerbaijan to partake in the privatization of Polish businesses. He noted that his country recently announced a program on privatizing major state-run enterprises. The program covers energy companies, including the Lotos SA firm.

"We invite Azerbaijani investors, and SOCAR [Azerbaijan’s state energy firm] -- if this proposal meets the company’s strategic aims -- to take interest in these projects."

Pawlak said he had submitted a list of hundreds of companies being privatized in Poland to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in a meeting on Wednesday.