Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Azerbaijan and India will sign an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in the field of customs, said Lieutenant-General of the Customs Service Safar Mehdiyev, the State Committee reported.

A meeting of the Chairman of the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan Safar Mehdiyev with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Azerbaijan Sanjay Rana was held on December 11.

During the meeting, it was said that this agreement, which is expected to be signed soon, will give impetus to the development of ties between the customs services of both countries.

The chairman noted that Azerbaijan is interested in the further development of cooperation ties with India.

Mehdiyev spoke about the activities carried out to more efficiently and transparently implement customs activities, and noted that these reforms create opportunities for flexible and efficient business activities.

The ambassador stressed that relations with Azerbaijan are important for India, and also said that Azerbaijan and India have historical ties.

Rana noted the expansion of mutual relations between Azerbaijan and India and added that this cooperation has great potential in many areas, including customs.

During the meeting, an exchange of views on other issues of mutual interest also took place. In particular, they discussed the introduction of information and communication technologies in the customs system, the joint struggle against customs offences.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on February 28, 1992.

India and Azerbaijan enjoy close and friendly relations and have an active cooperation between them in many areas including political, commercial and investment, educational and cultural.

The two sides had held the fourth meeting of bilateral Inter-Governmental Commission in October 2016 during which they discussed proposals for cooperation in a variety of fields including trade and investment, transportation, energy, chemicals and fertilizer, agriculture, science & technology, information and communication Technology (ICT), health care and pharmaceuticals, education, culture, and youth and sports.

Azerbaijan imports many goods from India including pharmaceuticals products, engineering goods, automobiles and spares, agricultural and meat products and IT services, while Indian companies regularly purchase oil from Azerbaijan.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

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