Baku, Azerbaijan, March 13
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Azerbaijan is interested in expanding cooperation with India in several spheres, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Firdovsi Aliyev said.
Aliyev made the remarks at the Azerbaijani-Indian business forum in Baku.
He added that one of the priority spheres of cooperation between the two countries is cargo transportation.
“Indian cargoes are mainly delivered to Europe by sea via the Suez Canal,” he said. “In this regard, the International North–South Transport Corridor project being implemented by Azerbaijan jointly with neighboring states will allow transporting cargo from India by land, which will significantly shorten the time and cost of the transportation. We hope that the implementation of this project will give impetus to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and India in the field of cargo transportation.”
Other promising areas for cooperation are tourism and pharmaceuticals, he noted.
“We are in talks for the creation of direct regular and charter flights between our countries,” he said. “I believe that this will make it possible to increase the tourist low from India to Azerbaijan and vice versa. It is also important to develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of pharmaceuticals. Several pharmaceutical plants are being created in Azerbaijan. It will be interesting for India with its rich history of pharmacy to invest in this sphere.”
The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.
At an initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year through the corridor and over 10 million tons of cargo in the future.