BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 17. The Azerbaijan-Iraq business forum has held in Baku, Trend reports from the event.
Key speakers included Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, Iraqi Minister of Trade Atheer Daoud Al-Ghurairy, Executive Director of AZPROMO Yusuf Abdullayev, Chairman of the Iraqi Federation of Chambers of Commerce Abdul Razzaq Al-Zuhairi, and Head of Azerbaijan’s KOBIA Orkhan Mammadov.
Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov stressed that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Iraq has increased by 49 percent from January through July 2024.
“Bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Iraq are becoming stronger as a result of the visionary policy of our countries' leaders. In this regard, I would like to particularly note the official visit of Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid to Azerbaijan on November 20, 2023. This visit made an important contribution to the expansion of the legal framework of our relations, and the signing of agreements and memorandums of understanding covering political, social, tourism, and transportation spheres further strengthened our partnership,” Jabbarov noted.
According to him, about 170 Iraqi companies operate in Azerbaijan in various sectors.
“There is a wide potential for Azerbaijani companies to operate in Iraq. Azerbaijani companies have participated as contractors in major infrastructure projects in Iraq, and the demand for construction, energy and water supply, roads, and bridges in the country opens new opportunities for our local companies.
Cooperation in the energy sector occupies an important place in the development of economic relations between our countries, and Azerbaijan is interested in assessing potential cooperation opportunities in this field,” the Minister emphasized.
He mentioned that it is important to increase mutual contacts between small and medium-sized enterprises to strengthen bilateral economic, especially trade and investment relations.
President of the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce Abdul Razzaq Al-Zuhairi noted that the logistics and transit potential between Azerbaijan and Iraq holds promising development opportunities.
The head of commerce added that detailed discussions on these topics will be held tomorrow as part of a meeting with the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev.
"Expanding logistics and transit issues is crucial for advancing economic relations between Azerbaijan and Iraq," Al-Zuhairi noted.
He also highlighted that the newly established Business Council between the two countries will further strengthen the bilateral cooperation.
To recall, on November 20, 2023, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid made his historic official visit to Azerbaijan, focusing on trade, energy, and visa facilitation.
Five agreements were signed during the visit, including a trade, economy, science, technology, and culture cooperation agreement on November 10, 2010, and an air service agreement on November 20, 2023.
For 2023, trade turnover between the two countries reached $19.6 million, with Azerbaijan importing oils, fats, sugar, paper, cardboard, and cocoa from Iraq.
Since November 2023, Baku-Baghdad flights have been operated. On February 2, 2024, flights on the Baku-Kirkuk route were launched. Flights are operated by Iraqi Airways. It is also planned to launch flights from Baku to Erbil and Basra.
