Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17
By Elena Kosolapova – Trend:
Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic have established sustainable economic relations, said Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Jan Mladek at the Azerbaijani-Czech business forum in Baku Jan. 17.
Mladek noted that Azerbaijan is a strategic supplier of oil to the Czech Republic.
Today these supplies meet about one third of demands of the Czech Republic, he said adding that the Czech Republic is also interested in implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project, which will allow delivering Azerbaijani gas to Europe.
The minister recalled that currently, a major part of Russian gas is delivered to the Czech Republic through Ukraine.
He added that prospects of the deliveries via this route are unclear; therefore, the Czech Republic is interested in ensuring new supply sources from Azerbaijan, Iran and other Caspian littoral states in the future.
The minister also noted that the cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic also develops dynamically in the non-oil sphere.
Despite the global economic crisis, the economy of the Czech Republic grows and it creates good opportunities for increasing bilateral economic cooperation, said Mladek.
He added that there are big opportunities for Czech companies in Azerbaijan in the spheres of agriculture, production of foodstuff, education, science, power industry, medicine, environmental protection.
Moreover, there is big potential for development of cooperation in the tourism sphere: it is not the first year that Azerbaijani tourists actively visit the Czech Republic and there are also good opportunities for attracting Czech tourists to Azerbaijan, noted the minister.
Mladek said that several agreements on strategic cooperation were signed between the two countries. Moreover, the Czech Republic supports not only the development of bilateral cooperation, but also the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU and is interested in strengthening of the Eastern Partnership program, he said.
The minister added that the Czech Republic supports Azerbaijan’s intentions on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is ready to provide all possible support in this issue for Azerbaijan.
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