Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

The energy-rich countries of the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf – Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates – have voiced interest in further developing bilateral relations in various fields.

Azerbaijan and UAE’s high-ranking officials have focused on the development of relations between the two countries at different levels during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s official visit to the UAE on February 1-2.

President Aliyev and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Emir of Dubai held an expanded meeting on February 2.

The sides discussed the prospects for expanding the cooperation in the fields of production, industry, logistics and air transportation.

Azerbaijan and the 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 two countries have a lot of similarities. In particular, Azerbaijan is the most stable and liberal country in the South Caucasus region, while the UAE - in the Middle East region.

Being a federation of seven states (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Quwain), the UAE has grown from a quiet backwater to one of the Middle East's most important economic centers.

Azerbaijan and the UAE are considered most tolerant countries of the regions they are located. Though traditionally conservative, the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, with other cultures and beliefs generally tolerated. Azerbaijan, with a population of over 9.6 million people, is a model of tolerance in the world.

Deepening cooperation

During the top-level meetings President Aliyev hailed the activity of the Joint Economic Commission, saying it contributed to the expansion of the bilateral cooperation, including in the field of investment making.

The tourism sector is one of the main areas of cooperation between the two countries. The officials from both sides have stated that tourism in both countries is increasing.

The head of state said there are good opportunities for developing the cooperation in the field of tourism as well, and added that the development of tourism is a key priority for Azerbaijan.

The UAE has diversified its economy to become a regional trading and tourism hub. Today Baku, the pearl of the Caspian Sea and Dubai, the pearl of the Gulf, are the two centers preferred by the majority of tourists.

President Aliyev also said the construction of high-class airports and the establishment of tourism infrastructure in regions contributed to the growth of tourism flow.

President Aliyev went on to add that there are good opportunities for the UAE companies to participate in infrastructure and water supply projects in Azerbaijan, as well as in the ongoing construction of a sea port, establishment of a free economic zone, and investment making projects in the country.

Dubai is considered one of the centers of the biggest man made ports of the world.

Port Rashid, with the largest amount of shipping capacity among all the ports in Dubai, is the most efficient and the leading port in the whole of the UAE.

The Jebel Port, also known as the Mina Jebel Ali, is the world's largest man made harbor, and is also the biggest port in the Middle East.

Thus, the UAE enjoys huge experience in the port construction and it can share this experience with Azerbaijan, the country which is constructing its own port - the new Baku International Sea Trade Port ferry terminal in Alat, 40 miles south of Baku.

The estimated transshipment volume for the new port complex is up to 10 million tons of cargo and 40,000 TEU containers at the first stage, up to 17 million tons of cargo and 150,000 TEU containers at the second stage, and up to 25 million tons of cargo, and 1 million TEU containers at the third stage of the project. In addition to the logistics center, a free economic zone is planned to create in this area in the future.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum hailed high quality of Azerbaijan-made agricultural products, stressing the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable exports from Azerbaijan to the UAE.

Azerbaijan's high-quality agricultural products enjoy popularity and are in demand in neighboring countries. Despite the fact that the South Caucasus nation has an access to the traditional markets, it intends to look for new markets for its agrarian goods.

In this regard, the UAE's interest in Azerbaijani products, is of significant importance for Baku to gain new markets in the Middle East region.

The sides also noted that friendly ties between the people of Azerbaijan and the UAE contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.

Azerbaijan and UAE, the two nations which established diplomatic relations in 1992, have long-standing and successful cooperation within international organizations such as the United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee statistics show that in January-September 2015 the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $46.78 million, $42.2 million of which fell on import to Azerbaijan.

One of the milestones of President Aliyev's UAE visit was signing of documents between Azerbaijan and the UAE.

Following the expanded meeting, President Aliyev and Vice President and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum participated at the signing ceremony.

Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of the Federal Government of the UAE Mohammad Abdulla Al Gergawi signed an agreement on institutional cooperation on sea transportation and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on agenda

Prior to the meeting with the Emir of Dubai, President Aliyev was in the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi where he met with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in an expanded format.

The two countries’ officials exchanged views on the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which emerged in 1988 over Yerevan’s territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor.

President Aliyev said that 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories were occupied by the Armenian armed forces, with more than one million Azerbaijanis becoming refugees and IDPs. He stressed the importance of settling the conflict in compliance with the international law and within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

The president thanked the UAE for supporting the adoption of the resolution on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the UN General Assembly, saying Azerbaijan also backed the UAE' position within the UN and other international organizations.

The sides hailed the development of bilateral relations between the two countries, and discussed the issues of further expansion of cooperation in the political, economic, trade, investment and other fields.

As part of the UAE visit, President Aliyev visited Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the grave of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, which is located on the grounds beside the mosque, as well as the building of famous Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

Thus, President Aliyev's visit to the UAE will pave the way for further development of Baku's ties with this Middle East country's emirates, as well as for increasing flow of investment and tourists from the UAE to the Land of Fire.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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