Azerbaijan interested to do free services trade with CIS countries

Azerbaijan is interested in joining the working group developing an agreement on free trade in services among the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the CIS Executive Committee told Trend.

Azerbaijan is interested in joining the working group developing an agreement on free trade in services among the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the CIS Executive Committee told Trend.

The Working Group developing the draft Agreement on Free Trade in Services was formed by the Executive Committee upon the decision of the Heads of Government of the CIS countries during the signing of the Treaty on a Free-Trade Area dated October 18, 2011.

"According to the draft Agreement on Free Trade in Services, which is developed within the CIS, its provisions will be applied not only to trade in services, but also to the creation and implementation of activity of service provider companies, as well as investments," the executive committee said.

"As is known, the investment flows determine the flows of goods."

The agreement will promote not only the free exchange of labor resources. It will create favorable conditions for investment by citizens of some CIS countries in the territory of other CIS countries and ensure the protection of these investments.

The representatives of the countries involved in the agreement are working on the draft document [except for Ukraine, which has not participated in the meetings of the working group since 2014], the executive committee said.

"The importance of the service sector is great," the executive committee said. "From a half to twothirds of the GDP of the CIS countries account for services. Trade in services is much less exposed to external influences than trade in goods, which is important. If trade in goods decreases during crisis, trade in services only slows down its growth."

According to the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee, about a third of the country's GDP account for services.

According to the Azerbaijani Central Bank, export of services amounted to $1.16 billion in JanuaryMarch 2018. At the same time, nonresidents rendered services worth $1.66 billion to Azerbaijani residents.

Earlier, the CIS Executive Committee sent an invitation to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to join the work on the document. The recent meeting of the working group on the draft agreement was held on April 27, 2018. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan also took part in this meeting.

The next meeting of experts of the working group will be held in Moscow on July 4-5.