Azerbaijan, Baku, July 13 / Trend /
Trend commentator Viktoriya Zhavoronkova
Besides discussing general issues of bilateral relations, Baku and Dushanbe as expected agreed on concrete cooperation on such important issues, as all-round economic cooperation during Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's visit to Azerbaijan.
Tajikistan and Azerbaijan are the post-Soviet countries with a relatively young economy. Both countries are interested in expanding foreign economic relations an area in which Azerbaijan has recently succeeded.
One can observe the recent intensification of integrating Azerbaijan's economic entities, especially in the Central Asian region.
At present, Baku is conducting a policy of active wide-economic cooperation with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The cooperation with Kyrgyzstan intensified from early 2012. While evaluating the talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Baku, we can confidently declare the opening of a new page in economic cooperation between the two countries.
The investment cooperation has been highlighted as one of the most promising directions of developing bilateral relations in the future.
Despite a relatively short way of independent development Azerbaijan was able to achieve significant progress in the economy. At present, its market is attractive not only to foreign investments. Today the republic has turned into an exporter of capital.
According to many experts, Tajikistan is one of the weakest countries in the region. It needs foreign investments which could help the country develop its own sustainable economy.
At this stage economic relations between the two countries are mainly based on energy cooperation.
Rahmon's visit to Azerbaijan gives reason to expect an expansion of bilateral cooperation in a number of other areas, for example in the field of agriculture.
The development of cooperation with Tajikistan will also have an important role for Azerbaijan. An agreement on cooperation in the field of investments will allow Azerbaijani economic entities to enter a new market with a relatively low level of competition. This will expand the geographic scope of activity for many domestic companies.
The largest financial industrial holding 'Azersun' received an official invitation for cooperation from the Tajik president. The president promised to create all possible conditions for successful functioning of a group of companies in Tajikistan.
Following the visit, an instruction was made to develop further initiatives and proposals on economic cooperation, particularly in energy, industry and other fields.
According to the Tajik president's statements, Dushanbe and Baku are determined to use the existing potential to bring the relations of cooperation, especially in trade-economic and transport-transit areas, to a higher level.
Taking into account the fruitful discussions in Baku, it is important not to lose the opportunity to fully implement all bilateral agreements which are capable of making a significant contribution to the development of both countries' economies today.