Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 10
By Maksim Tsurkov - Trend:
Azerbaijan and Russia are projected to sign, in the first half of 2015, a plan for cooperation in the investment area until 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters in Baku on Feb. 10.
Dvorkovich is in Baku on one-day visit.
"Azerbaijan and Russia agreed to accelerate work on a number of documents," Dvorkovich said. "It isn't expected to sign agreements as part of this visit, but we have in-process a few documents, for which we agreed to speed up the harmonization of technical issues to sign them in the first half of the year."
He said that in particular the matter rests in a plan of cooperation in the investment area until 2020, the agreements on synchronization of the work of energy systems of Azerbaijan and Russia, the creation of an investment platform between the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Azerbaijan's State Oil Fund.
"These agreements are the basis for realization of projects in trade and investment area," said the deputy prime minister.
Dvorkovich noted that upon his return to Moscow, he will give the necessary instructions to accelerate the work as part of the reached agreements.
In general, in the recent years, the Russian side invested $628.4 million into Azerbaijan's fixed capital, while the total capital investments are estimated at $1.8 billion.
The Azerbaijani investments in the Russian economy in 10 years amounted to nearly $1 billion.
The trade turnover between the two countries in 2014 stood at $1.96 billion, of which $1.3 billion accounted for the imports to Azerbaijan, while $640.3 million accounted for the exports to Russia, according Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee.
Edited by SI
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov