Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.17
By Dalga Khatinoglu, Umid Niyayesh, Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran invited Azerbaijani companies to invest in its oil and gas projects, Tehran chamber of commerce chairman, Yahya Al-e Es'haq, said on December 17.
Addressing a joint business forum of Iran-Azerbaijan Entrepreneurs which was held on Dec. 17 in Baku, Al-e Es'haq said that some $500 billion was to be invested in Iran's oil and gas projects in the next five years, Trend reported.
During the meeting, National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers') Organizations of Azerbaijan Republic (AEC) signed two MOUs with the Iran Entrepreneurship Association and the Tehran chamber of commerce.
Mammad Musayev, the president of AEC announced that the bilateral trade is not at a satisfactory level.
He added that AEC has established good relations with the CIS countries, and this issue can be helpful for Iranian entrepreneurs.
Al-e Es'haq said that Iranian enterprises can start building, infrastructural projects, petrochemical, and power plant projects in Azerbaijan.
Vidadi Quliyev the vice-president of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation said the economy of Azerbaijan accounts for 70 percent of the Caucasus region's economy.
According to Quliyev, some $156 billion has been invested in different sectors of the country, 50 percent of which has been secured through foreign investments.
"Iran has invested $104.5 million in Azerbaijan's non-oil sector so far. Some 390 Iranian companies are active in Azerbaijan", he added.
Iran has owned a 10 percent share in Azerbaijan's largest gas field, Shah Deniz.
According to official reports of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan exported about $64 million worth of goods to Iran, while importing about $179 million worth of goods from Iran in the first 10 months of 2013.
Edited by C.N.