Baku, Beijing eager to expand cooperation
CThe country’s Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev made the remarks at a press conference on the Azerbaijani-Chinese economic relations on February 13.
The minister said that overall 10.4 million tons of cargo was transported last year, and truck transportation grew by 14 percent.
“There is a great transit potential in Azerbaijan, and a lot of work has been done to implement it. This direction is one of the priorities in the country's economic development strategy. Large infrastructure projects are implemented in Azerbaijan. Our corridor [East-West] has a number of advantages, including political stability, favorable geographic location. Its [corridor] length is 4,500 kilometers, which allows to deliver goods from China to Europe in 14 days,” Mustafayev said.
The agreement on creation of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was signed in April 2016 in Baku by the railway authorities of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan.
It is a project initiated to improve transit potential and development of the countries of the Caspian region. This route runs from China through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and further to Europe.
Further, the minister stressed that Azerbaijan and China will soon sign a memorandum on cooperation in the tourism sector.
He went on to say that after signing of the document, it will be possible to organize travel of tourist groups from China to Azerbaijan.
“Tourism is an extremely attractive area of cooperation. Every year, 120 million tourists from China visit other countries. As is known, group tours are very popular among the Chinese. After signing the memorandum, it will be possible to organize similar group tours of Chinese tourists to Azerbaijan,” he underlined.
Touching upon the investments Mustafayev mentioned that to date, China has invested over $770 million in the Azerbaijani economy, adding that bulk of this investment was made in the oil industry.
“We expect to increase investments in the non-oil sector, and we are working in this direction. It is worth noting the cooperation of the parties on the SOCAR GPC project, a relevant memorandum has been signed. Azerbaijan attaches great importance to this project and is interested in the participation of Chinese companies. Furthermore, a memorandum was signed between AS Group and China CAMC Engineering Co, which will attract additional investment,” the economy minister mentioned.
Addressing the event he mentioned that Azerbaijan expects that 10-15 percent of goods sent from China to Europe will pass through its territory.
The minister pointed out that there is a good economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and China, and we intend to expand it, adding that Azerbaijan has supported China’s One Belt One Road Initiative, and the Trans-Caspian international transport corridor project fully corresponds to this concept.
In 2017, more than 100 million tons of cargos were transported from China to Europe, according to the minister, adding that the BakuTbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway is of great importance for China.
“The BTK provides an easier way for Chinese goods to enter European markets,” Mustafayev said. “We will work in this direction.”
The minister also added that China will participate in the annual conference of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) to be held in Baku in May.
Speaking of wine, the economy minister underlined that in 2017, Azerbaijan exported wine products worth $ 6 million.
Furthermore, Azerbaijani wines worth $ 1 million were delivered to China, he said.
China is a huge opportunity and a priority market for Azerbaijan. More than 50 agreements were signed between the two countries so far. More than 100 companies with Chinese capital, participating in various projects, operate in Azerbaijan.
Trade and economic contacts occupy a significant place in bilateral relations between the parties. The process of interaction between the two countries was marked by constant tendencies of expansion and strengthening of cooperation. In recent years, particularly significant achievements have been achieved in this area of cooperation.
The trade turnover between the two countries increased by 43 percent and amounted to $1.2 billion in 2017.