BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 11. Trade between Azerbaijan and EU countries has a huge potential for growth, EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko told Trend.
According to Michalko, the new bilateral agreement will create additional opportunities for increasing Azerbaijani exports to the EU.
"We would like to see more Azerbaijani products on the European market. We also note the growth of Azerbaijani exports of non-oil products, which is a successful step towards increasing bilateral trade," he said, adding that in 2021, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the EU even exceeded the pre-COVID-19-pandemic level.
"In 2019, the trade turnover between the EU and Azerbaijan amounted to nearly 12 billion euro, while in 2021 - 15.5 billion euro. This once again indicates that the EU is the main trading partner of Azerbaijan with a 45 percent share in the Azerbaijani foreign trade turnover,” Michalko noted. "The EU is also the largest export destination for Azerbaijani products. The EU countries account for 51 percent of Azerbaijan's total exports.”
Besides, according to the ambassador, the EU supports initiatives to improve the business environment and reforms in this area to allow companies in Azerbaijan increase their production capacity and export potential.
"We are preparing the sixth edition about the business environment in Azerbaijan. We'll present it at the EU-Azerbaijan business forum scheduled for May 17. I’m sure that this will help attract potential investors to Azerbaijan, increase current investment and production," he said.
"This year, we’ll hold the EU-Azerbaijan forum in a hybrid format. We hope that this format will help expand the composition of its participants," added Michalko.
The EU-Azerbaijan forum is an annual event, which was suspended since the COVID-19 pandemic.