Dutch businessmen keen to support national agriculture

ADutch ambassador to Azerbaijan Onno Kervers made the remarks during a briefing in Baku on February 20.

Representatives of Azerbaijan’s state organizations, a delegation of the Council of Europe, experts from the Netherlands and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development will participate in the three-day meeting of MOBILAZE, which will be held on February 20-23 in the framework of EU-Azerbaijan cooperation.

He stressed that the trade turnover between the countries is currently increasing within the cooperation in numerous important spheres.

“Cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands is at a high level. The Netherlands participates in the diversification of Azerbaijan’s economy. We closely cooperate in agriculture, water management and a number of other spheres,” Kervers said.

MOBILAZE (Support to the Implementation of the Mobility Partnership with Azerbaijan) is among the important projects in Azerbaijan with Dutch participation, according to the ambassador.

“We were one of the first to express willingness to cooperate and support Azerbaijan in this sphere as soon as the project had been launched. Such projects increase contacts between our countries and positively affect other spheres of our cooperation. We work on decreasing the risks of illegal migration, as well as the risks for individuals visiting the EU states with economical goals, and the risks for security of our countries in general,” Kervers said.

Kingdom of the Netherlands recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in December 31, 1991. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in April 1, 1992.

In recent years bilateral economic missions, business forums, as well as other activities organized with support of the Embassy opened a new phase in practical cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands.

Currently, more than 125 companies with the capital from the Netherlands operate in Azerbaijan in the field of trade, services, insurance, industry, construction, transport and other spheres.

The Netherlands has invested almost $800 million in the non-oil sector of the Azerbaijani economy in total.

Moreover, it was reported that Azerbaijan and the Netherlands may open joint trading houses to demonstrate benefits of cooperation in agriculture and many other spheres.

Earlier, Charge d’Affaires of Azerbaijan in the Kingdom of the Netherlands Jalal Mirzoyev said that the level of trade turnover between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan increased 12 times in 2017 compared to 2016.

The trade turnover between the states amounted to $83.85 million in January-September 2017.

The Ambassador also pointed out that the relations between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands are developing in various directions and high-level visits, meetings, signed documents play an important role in strengthening the ties between the two countries.