Tehran, Iran, December 4
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s Azre reinsurance company has sent a delegate to Iran to explore the market in hope of future cooperation.
"We started cooperating with Iran two years ago. The cooperation is quite successful and we are participating in several treaties in Iran. So far I think we have signed more than eight or nine contracts," Azre Deputy Chairman Vusal Abbasov told Trend December 3.
"Azre is the only reinsurance company in Azerbaijan. It was established in 2007. We have got a rating of B+ from A. M. Best, which is one of the highest ratings in post-Soviet countries," Abbasov said, introducing his company.
"Being a reinsurance company requires diversifying the portfolio from the domestic market to foreign markets. So basically one of the approaches is to start with a market that is close to your country, that’s culturally close. We are doing business in post-Soviet countries, Turkey, Central Asia, and Iran is one of our target markets. "
He pointed out that Iran and Azerbaijan have some joint projects in energy, construction, power, railways, etc.
"It is my personal observation that cooperation is growing between Baku and Tehran. There is a North-South corridor that can pass from Iran, Azerbaijan to go to Russia. There is also the Silk Road. We really feel that we are on a developing trend and situations are becoming better day by day."
The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iran amounted to $137.65 million in January-September 2016, more than $102 million of which fell on the import of Iranian goods, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.
An economic committee of Iran and Azerbaijan convenes a few times each year to pursue joint developmental projects.
Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Hassan Rouhani exchanged visits in 2016, during which their ministers signed multiple agreements for cooperation.