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Azerbaijan, Kuwait eye to open direct flights

Business Materials 18 November 2016 14:56 (UTC +04:00)
Azerbaijan and Kuwait plan to open direct flights, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Kuwait Elkhan Gahraman said in an interview with Trend.
Azerbaijan, Kuwait eye to open direct flights

Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17

By Seba Aghayeva – Trend:

Azerbaijan and Kuwait plan to open direct flights, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Kuwait Elkhan Gahraman said in an interview with Trend.

Opening of the direct flights between Azerbaijan and Kuwait will contribute to the development of cooperation between the two countries in economic, trade, investment and tourism sectors, and lead to an increase in the trade turnover volume between the two states, he said.

The ambassador added that currently, relations between Azerbaijan and Kuwait in the spheres of economy, in particular tourism, successfully develop.

Simplification of the visa regime between Azerbaijan and the Gulf states played a major role in this.

In accordance with Azerbaijani presidential decree, the procedure for issuing Azerbaijani visas to citizens of the Gulf states has been simplified since February 1, 2016.

After that, the number of tourists coming to Azerbaijan from the Gulf countries, including Kuwait, has increased significantly.

The opening of direct flights between the two countries will lead to the further growth of the tourist flow, Gahraman said.

President of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC (AZAL) Jahangir Asgarov and Director General of Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Yousef Sulaiman Al Fouzan signed an intergovernmental agreement on air traffic between the two countries on Nov. 16.

By signing the intergovernmental agreement, the sides removed obstacles to open air traffic between the two countries that will contribute to further development of bilateral economic and cultural relations between Azerbaijan and Kuwait.

Azerbaijan’s national carrier AZAL and freight carrier Silk Way Airlines are studying the possibility of opening direct flights to cities of Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways intends to open direct flights to Azerbaijan.

"Tourism is one of priority directions in Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector," the country’s Ambassador to Kuwait said. "This sphere has been defined as a priority in the strategic roadmap of Azerbaijan’s national economy."

"From this point of view, it is particularly important that the country’s tourist services enter new markets," he noted. "Currently, the work is underway to develop the tourism sector and present it abroad, including in Kuwait."

In April 2016, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Abulfaz Garayev visited Kuwait and discussed possibilities to expand cooperation between the two countries in the sphere of culture and tourism.

During the talks with the Kuwaiti side, an agreement was reached to organize mutual visits of representatives of the leading tourism companies and mass media outlets, Gahraman said.

"Representatives of the leading mass media outlets of Kuwait visited Azerbaijan in May 2016 as part of these agreements in order to get acquainted with the tourist potential of the country," the ambassador said.

"A delegation of representatives of the Azerbaijani tourism companies will visit Kuwait in late November 2016," he noted. "Presentation of the tourism potential of Azerbaijan will take place in Kuwait during their visit. Exchange of visits will continue in 2017 as well."

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