Baku, Azerbaijan, April 12
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Azerbaijan and China have still more to do to promote bilateral trade, Hikmat Hajiyev, head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration told China Daily, Trend reports.
"Bilateral relations of the two countries, from high-level political dialogue, economic and trade cooperation, to energy, education, culture and humanitarian spheres are developing," Hajiyev said
The country has had extensive discussions about exporting Azerbaijan agricultural products to China, Hajiyev said, adding Azerbaijani companies are actively taking part in food and agricultural exhibitions in China to promote their products, as the Chinese market is the one of the biggest markets in the world with immense opportunities.
Azerbaijan sent a delegation to the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai last November. "This kind of expo is extremely important, and provides a chance for Azerbaijan to reach out to the Chinese market and establish contact with Chinese companies," Hajiyev said, adding last year's event was extremely helpful to Azerbaijan and helped traders to understand the requirements and demands of the Chinese market.
Hajiyev believes there is still more to do to promote bilateral trade, as the two countries have very good relations.
Companies from the two countries are engaged in projects for the petrochemical industry, and the two countries can touch upon other strategic areas such as energy and communication, he added.
Hajiyev also noted multilateralism should be further promoted in free trade. Good governance, trust, peace and cooperation should be promoted at an international level, he said.
"Data from 2018 shows 15,000 Chinese tourists visited Azerbaijan last year, which is not enough of course, and we aim to do more to attract more visitors in the coming years," Hajiyev said.
He also highlighted education exchanges between the two countries, as China has sent students to study language in Azerbaijan and vice-versa. "We are looking forward to increase the number of (students) because we see they can play the role of a humanitarian bridge between our countries."
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