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Azerbaijan - Turkey trade continues to grow

Business Materials 27 February 2020 16:29 (UTC +04:00)
Azerbaijan - Turkey trade continues to grow

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 27

By Eldar Janashvili - Trend:

The current trend of rapid growth in Turkey - Azerbaijan trade turnover will continue in subsequent years, Head of Department of the Center for Economic Reforms Analysis and Communication Nijat Hajizade said while commenting on the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Azerbaijan, Trend reports with reference to the center's press service.

According to Nijat Hajizade, the trade relations between the two countries continue to develop.

Hajizade noted that the "Action Plan for 2020-2022" on the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Azerbaijan and Turkey on cooperation in the field of technical regulation, standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology, signed on Sept. 11, 2012, is the factor of the best support for trade operations, since technical regulations and product standards of both countries will be adapted in accordance with it.

According to the head of the center's department, this will lead to simplification of documentation in trade and will create conditions for the widespread introduction of the Turkish experience in the country.

Nijat Hajizade noted that the foreign trade turnover of Azerbaijan with Turkey, its second largest foreign trade partner after Italy, increased by one third and amounted to $4.5 billion in 2019, which makes about 13.5 percent of Azerbaijan's total foreign trade.

Also, last year, Turkey sharply increased imports from Azerbaijan. In 2019, Azerbaijan's exports to Turkey grew by 36 percent and amounted to $2.9 billion.

Nijat Hajizade noted that the export to Turkey plays an important role in the growth of Azerbaijan's non-oil sector, making up 14.6 percent of the country's total exports (an increase of 5.2 percentage points on annualized basis). Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's imports from Turkey grew by almost $70 million in 2019, having amounted to $1.6 billion.

Export of Azerbaijan's non-oil sector to Turkey amounted to $401.8 million in 2019, with the growth rate of 16.5 percent compared to the previous year. Turkey's market also ranks second in the non-oil exports (after Russia).

Nijat Hajizadeh added that Azerbaijan has had a surplus in foreign trade with Turkey since 2017, which increased by another $967 million in 2019 on annualized basis, amounting to $1.2 billion, which is a record indicator in the recent years in the trade between the two countries.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili

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