Mustafayev made the remarks during the 17th session of the State Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.

The delegations of the State Commission co-chairs – Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maksim Oreshkin attended the meeting.

Before the meeting of the intergovernmental commission, Mustafayev met with Oreshkin. During the meeting, trade and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as prospects for further cooperation were discussed.

During the meeting, Mustafayev noted that trade and joint investments are important areas of Azerbaijani-Russian relations, adding that Azerbaijan invested more than $1 billion in the Russian economy, and Russia invested more than $4.2 billion in Azerbaijan’s economy.

Azerbaijan is considered one of the investors in the Russian region of the North Caucasus, he said.

The most successful initiatives implemented by Azerbaijani companies in Russia, include the construction of sanatorium “Istochnik” in Yessentuki vity, a canned fruit and vegetables plant in Krasnodar city, a hotel and sanatorium complexes in Zheleznovodsk and Kislovodsk cities, and other projects, he noted.

About 760 companies with Russian capital operate in Azerbaijan, Mustafayev said, adding that Russian companies are also participating in projects implemented in Azerbaijan as contractors.

Mustafayev also said that the Azerbaijani business center, opened in May this year in Astrakhan city with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, is of particular importance in expanding economic ties.

The Azerbaijan-Russia and Russia-Azerbaijan working councils play an important role in the development of cooperation between the businessmen of the two countries, he noted.

In 2019, it is planned to open two wine houses of Azerbaijan in Moscow, he said. At the next stage, it is planned to open wine houses of Azerbaijan in Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg cities.

The minister added that the sphere of transport and transit traffic is one of the successful areas of bilateral cooperation.

Mustafayev noted that cargo transportation via the International North-South Transport Corridor grew 100 times. It was said that the construction of a bridge across the Samur River, being implemented jointly with Russia, continues.

Mustafayev also spoke about Azerbaijani-Russian cooperation in the fields of energy, agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), tourism, education and other areas, and also noted the importance of connecting the Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran energy systems.

The number of Russian tourists coming to Azerbaijan in the first nine months of this year increased by 20 percent compared with the corresponding period last year, he said.

The Azerbaijani minister stressed that interregional relations are one of the priority areas of bilateral ties between the two countries.

Mustafayev added that Azerbaijan established trade and economic ties with about 80 federal subjects of the Russian Federation.

Agreements on trade, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation were signed with approximately 20 subjects of the Russian Federation, he said.

In turn, Oreshkin noted that the year 2018 was successful in terms of the development of economic ties between the two countries, and expressed confidence that Russian-Azerbaijani relations will expand further.

Oreshkin noted that there is a positive trend in the development of relations in the field of trade and investment.

At the end of the meeting, a protocol was signed following the 17th session of the State Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Russia.

The document was signed by the State Commission co-chairs - Shahin Mustafayev and Maksim Oreshkin. The document, which reflected the issues and directions for the future activities of the Commission discussed at the meeting, provides for the expansion of cooperation in the trade and economic, industrial, agricultural, transport areas, in the field of ICT, tourism, healthcare, etc.

As part of the meeting, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers’) Organizations of Azerbaijan and the All-Russia Business Association “Delovaya Rossiya” (Business Russia).

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