Baku, Abu-Dhabi intend to further boost cooperation

Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates will explore further possible ways of cooperation during upcoming talks.

The talks will be held as part of the official visit of UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Baku, which is scheduled for April, according to preliminary agreements.

Dashgin Shikarov, Azerbaijan's ambassador to the UAE said that currently joint actions are underway for the organization of the upcoming visit.

“Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the UAE, particularly, its political component is at a high level. Relations between our countries are based on a multidirectional cooperation, which meets mutual interests,” noted Shikarov.

The UAE is one of Azerbaijan’s important partners in Persian Gulf and the Middle East region, he said adding that Azerbaijan, in turn, is the most important partner of the UAE in the Caucasus.

The diplomat further emphasized that both countries have close positions on many international issues. Azerbaijan and the UAE actively cooperate both on the bilateral basis and within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), United Nations (UN) and other international organizations.

“We praise these relations with the friendly country and are deeply satisfied with the fact that the UAE unequivocally supports Azerbaijan’s fair position in resolutions adopted by the OIC, UN and other international organizations over the Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan and the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” added Shikarov.

Touching upon the bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic and investments field, the ambassador said that several successful steps were taken in this sphere in 2016 that are regulated by the joint intergovernmental commission on trade and economic and investment cooperation.

During the negotiations, further steps of cooperation both in the political and economic spheres will be discussed, added the diplomat.

Azerbaijan and UAE enjoy fruitful cooperation in various fields and their mutual relations are developing both in the political, economic and cultural fields with ascending line. The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.

Some 223 UAE companies are currently operating in Azerbaijan. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the UAE exceeded $63.66 million in January-November 2016, according to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee.

Recently, the two countries agreed to establish a joint investment fund to facilitate the implementation of joint investment in mutually beneficial projects.

Starting November 10, 2015, citizens of the UAE has visited Azerbaijan on a simplified procedure. They can obtain entry visa, valid for 30 days’ stay, at any international airport in Azerbaijan. Now, Azerbaijan is holding negotiations to introduce a visa-free regime for citizens of both the UAE and Azerbaijan.