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Weekly actual topics in Azerbaijan (April 10-14)

Analysis Materials 18 April 2017 13:01 (UTC +04:00)

Israel eyes to help Azerbaijan grow own crops

Israel plans to build a company for production of vegetable and fruit crops’ seeds in Azerbaijan, Alex Kaplun, the president of the Israel-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IACCI), said.

The construction project of the seed production company was initiated a year ago by Azerbaijan’s Agriculture Ministry and the IACCI, he said.

"At the end of 2016, in anticipation of the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Baku, a contract was signed between Azerbaijan’s Agriculture Ministry and the Israeli Plain Sciences (IPS) company to create a state enterprise for seed breeding and production," Kaplun noted.

Kaplun noted that the quality seeds of own production are the basis for successful farming, and using quality seeds well adapted to weather conditions enables farmers to get fruitful harvest.

"Azerbaijan has excellent conditions for the development of farms," Kaplun said. "Establishment of local seed production will make it possible to abandon the import of seeds, save the state budget funds and create new jobs."

He added that at the moment Azerbaijan’s agriculture completely depends on the imported seeds. Many seeds are produced by European companies, and these seeds are not adapted to local weather conditions, he noted.

"The establishment of the enterprise will open new opportunities for the economy of Azerbaijan, and the country will be able to export seeds in the future, and this will become a positive and significant step in the development of the entire agro-industrial complex," he said.

IPS will be the contractor of the project from the Israeli side, he said.

The IPS company will act in partnership with several leading Israeli companies and will be headed by Oded Sagi, Ph.D. in agricultural science, who is one of the best Israeli specialists in the field of breeding new seeds and their production, he added.

"Teaching Azerbaijani specialists the technologies for breeding new varieties of seeds ideally adapted to the Azerbaijani climate and consumer priorities will become an integral part of the project," Kaplun added.

"For this purpose, laboratories for the research and breeding of new varieties of seeds will be built within the framework of the project," he said.

Estonia shows interest in Azerbaijan’s various spheres

Estonia is interested in developing relations with Azerbaijan in IT, engineering, energy, logistics, agriculture, Mihhail Korb, the minister of public administration of Estonia, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

He added that on the whole, both countries are interested in developing ties in such areas as economics, IT, engineering, energy, tourism, culture, youth policy, ecology, agriculture, transport.

"We are working closely with Azerbaijan in IT sector,” he said. “Moreover, we are interested in developing relations in agriculture, engineering, energy and logistics, which are new and very important areas.”

“I think that the North-South transport corridor can be called a priority direction of cooperation which should be developed,” he said. “We want to be a hub for handling cargo from the north - Scandinavia to the south and back. We plan to transport cargo across the sea.”

25 years of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Estonia

The minister added that the same events formed the basis for the establishment of the independence of Azerbaijan and Estonia.

"25 years passed rapidly,” he said. “Azerbaijan and Estonia started from the same positions and the same events formed the basis for the establishment of our independence. At present, we have very good diplomatic relations, long cultural ties. We support each other and we agree on many issues.”

At the same time, Korb stressed the potential for further development of economic relations.

"Both countries are experiencing different stages of development,” he said. “But Estonia and Azerbaijan are talking more about foreign trade and the development of foreign economic relations in various directions. Economic ties between Estonia and Azerbaijan have been established, but their potential is bigger than it is now. But on the whole, I assess the relations between the two countries as very good.”

Estonia, Azerbaijan may exchange banking experience

Estonia and Azerbaijan may exchange experience in the banking sphere, Korb said.

"I think the Estonian banking sector is strong enough and this is the sphere where we can exchange experience," he said. "I am not familiar with the Azerbaijani banking sector, but in Estonia the banking sector is the driver of development of the IT sector."

"I think there are good opportunities for cooperation in this sphere," Korb added.

Nevertheless, the minister added that none of the countries have yet touched on this topic in their discussions. However, he didn’t rule out that the banking sector could be discussed at the next stage of the talks.

Opportunities for investments in agriculture, real estate, transport

“Azerbaijani entrepreneurs mainly invest in Estonia’s real estate and retail trade,” the minister said.

“Azerbaijan and Estonia can make mutual investments in agriculture, real estate and transport,” he added.

Estonia is also interested in cooperation with Azerbaijan in the textile industry, Korb said.

"We have a strong base for textile production,” he said. “We produce clothes that are very popular in Estonia. I think that we can establish certain ties with Azerbaijan in this sphere."

"Our main task is to create prerequisites and opportunities for Azerbaijani and Estonian businessmen’s activity," Korb said.

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