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First of all, I would like to thank the leadership of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and in particular, President Ilham Aliyev, who has always been attentive to the development of relations between our republics, aimed at strengthening relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.

Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan of the Russian Federation Rustam Minnikhanov said this in an exclusive interview with Trend, Azernews reports.

"The established good traditions of long-term productive Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation have become a solid basis for interaction between our countries. In these difficult times, we have maintained an effective trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian partnership. Tatarstan is one of the leaders in the national rating of the state of the country's investment climate. Particular attention is paid to innovative development. On the territory of our republic there are 2 special economic zones - Alabuga and Innpolis, 5 territories of advanced socio-economic development. All of them provide various kinds of benefits. Companies, depending on their type of activity, choose the most attractive conditions for themselves and are located on these sites. In order to simplify the work of investors as much as possible, the Investment Promotion Agency was created in Tatarstan. Azerbaijani companies can find their niche in the Tatarstan market," he said.

Minnikhanov noted that work is underway with Azerbaijan through leading Tatarstan companies:

• KAMAZ supplies vehicles and spare parts for them:

- assembly of vehicles from assembly kits of parts is carried out by the Ganja Automobile Plant, which is also the official distributor of KAMAZ PJSC in the Azerbaijani market;

- there is a joint venture Autoleasing-Azerbaijan (Ganja Automobile Plant and KAMAZ), which opened a new service center near the city of Jabrayil;

- there are also 2 certified service centers in the cities of Baku and Ganja;

"According to the results of 2022, our trade turnover with Azerbaijan exceeded $125 million, exceeding the figure for 2021 by almost 80 percent. We can and must continue to increase mutual trade, develop our contacts on various platforms. We export agricultural, pharmaceutical, paper, products, wood and its derivatives to Azerbaijan. In turn, we import oil products, minerals, dairy and fruit and vegetable products from Azerbaijan. We have every opportunity to strengthen cooperation in the field of energy and industry, automotive, helicopter and shipbuilding, petrochemistry, gas motor fuel, medicine, agriculture, informatization and logistics," Rais of Tatarstan said.

He noted that the Republic of Tatarstan and Azerbaijan are connected by the Volga and the Caspian.

In April of this year, the 3rd regular meeting of our intergovernmental commission was held in Tatarstan. A representative Azerbaijani delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev took part in the KazanForum International Economic Forum," Minnikhanov said.

R.Minnikhanov recalled with satisfaction his recent visit to Azerbaijan.

"On June 17 and 18 of this year, we again visited the Republic of Azerbaijan with great joy, got acquainted with the activities of a number of economic regions, held fruitful official meetings, opened the Auto Leasing Azerbaijan service center, created with the participation of KAMAZ PJSC, and also took part in Tatar national holiday Sabantuy on the central embankment in Baku. I am sincerely grateful to President Ilham Aliyev for our personal meeting and the attention that he always gives to cooperation between Tatarstan and Azerbaijan within the framework of Russian-Azerbaijani relations. Since 1992, the Representation of Tatarstan has been operating in Azerbaijan, which is actively involved into work and contributes to the intensification of bilateral contacts," Rais of Tatarstan said.

According to him, it is very important to expand humanitarian cooperation between the two republics.

"More than two hundred students from Azerbaijan study at Tatarstan universities. In the future, these graduates should become a kind of connecting link designed to increase our multifaceted cooperation. The National Cultural Autonomy of Azerbaijanis also operating in Tatarstan makes a huge contribution to the development of our relations. Direct flights from Kazan to Baku contributes to the growth of our interaction," Minnikhanov concluded.

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