Tourist flow with Bulgaria shows 40 pct increase

T“The number of issued visas for Azerbaijani citizens has increased by at least 40 percent since the opening of the flight, and we believe that this year the positive trend will continue after reopening the regular flights in spring,” he said.

The direct flight between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria was performed for the first time in January 2018.

The ambassador underlined that the goal is to deliver results that are more visible for the citizens of Bulgaria and Azerbaijan.

The diplomat went on to say that the establishment of a direct flight between the capitals was a very wise political decision made by the leaders of the countries, which is already bringing very positive results.

“Now there are more opportunities for closer connection between our peoples and more intense contacts in business, more dynamic economic relations,”Yankov stressed.

Further, touching upon the simplification of the visa regime between the countries, the ambassador said that Bulgaria does not impose unilateral visa regulations on other countries, but rather follows EU policy in this respect.

Currently, visa facilitation regime between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria is being discussed.

“Our embassy works according to the Agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan on the facilitation of the issuance of visas [the purpose of the Agreement, which entered into force in September 1, 2014, is to facilitate, on the basis of reciprocity, the issuance of visas for an intended stay of no more than 90 days per period of 180 days to the citizens of the EU and Azerbaijan]. The consular section of the embassy always works to its full capacity to provide fast response to the requirements of the visa applicants and tries to proceed the documents in the shortest possible terms,” Yankov emphasized.

The opening ceremony of the Baku-Sofia air flight was held in January 16, 2018. An agreement on opening of direct flights between Baku and Sophia was reached during negotiations of Presidents of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Bulgaria Rumen Radev. More than 3,000 Azerbaijani tourists visit Bulgaria annually.

The capital of Bulgaria has become the first city in the European Union, to which Azerbaijan's low-cost air carrier Buta Airways launched its direct flights. Buta Airways is the first low-cost airline in Azerbaijan, a structural unit of the CJSC Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL). It was founded in December 2016. The Airline’s fleet consists of modern Embraer aircrafts. The Airline is based in Baku, at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on June 5, 1992.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover between Bulgaria and Azerbaijan reached $37.43 million in 2017, $37.3 million of which accounts for the imports from Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is interested in strengthening bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan especially in agriculture, tourism, transport, light and food industries, industry, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Recently, the 5th meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria held in Sofia last November. During the meeting, energy and transport projects were also discussed as well as the economic and tourism cooperation. The importance of the Southern Gas Corridor implemented by Azerbaijan for ensuring European energy security within the framework of this project and in this context, providing Bulgaria with natural gas via the Greek-Bulgarian gas pipeline, was highlighted.

Bulgaria expects to receive Azerbaijani gas through the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), a gas pipeline that will be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.

It is also possible to cooperate with Bulgaria within the projects Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and Baku International Sea Trade Port. They can be used as a hub by the Bulgarian companies for exporting their products to the markets of Central Asia and neighboring countries.