Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Representatives of more than a dozen Belarusian companies discussed cooperation with their Azerbaijani colleagues in trade and economy as part of the joint business forum held on October 17.

Within the forum the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers’) Organizations of Azerbaijan (ASK) and Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BelCCI) signed a memorandum on cooperation. The document was signed by ASK President Mammad Musayev and BelCCI Chairman Vladimir Ulakhovich.

Addressing the event, Musayev said that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Belarus rose by seven percent in recent years and reached $100 million.

He highlighted IT, agriculture, pharmaceutics and many others spheres as important for expanding cooperation.

Ulakhovich, for his part, said that Belarusian investments in Azerbaijan reached $1 billion in the past 10 years.

Cooperation of Belarus and Azerbaijan in the economic sphere has been developing dynamically over the past decade. The main priorities of this cooperation are production cooperation, joint projects in the fields of science and technology, as well as investment cooperation.

Currently, 58 companies with Azerbaijani capital operate in Belarus while 70 Belarusian companies operate in Azerbaijan.

Belarus exports to Azerbaijan mechanical production, woodworking, tires, foodstuff, medicine, household appliances, dishes and other goods. Azerbaijan’s exports to Belarus mainly consist of products made of aluminum, products of petrochemical, engineering and agriculture.

Azerbaijan’s first ever Trade House was opened in the Belarusian capital Minsk, on May 26.

Trade House in Minsk has signed deals with a number of major Belarusian trade companies to organize sale of Azerbaijani products in the country.

As of August, the Trade House has contributed to export of 84 tons of fruit and vegetable products, including 8,000 bottles of olive oil, 2,700 bottles of pomegranate juice and more than 1,200 boxes of tea, to Belarus.

Moreover, Azerbaijan and Belarus plan to supply tractors to Turkey.

The Minsk Tractor Works (MTW) OJSC signed a new contract with Ganja Automobile Plant in Azerbaijan on September 22 for supply of tractors to Azerbaijan along with an additional protocol on jointly entering the Turkish market.

In December 2016, MTW OJSC and Ganja Automobile Plant signed a contract on joint production of machinery in Ganja and delivery of machine and tractor sets to Azerbaijan in 2016-2017.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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