Dec. 19
Azerbaijan, France to create interregional co-op committee
Azerbaijan and France are creating a Committee on Interregional Cooperation and Decentralization, Azerbaijani Economy Ministry said.
This is envisaged by a memorandum of understanding signed in Baku by the Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Bertrand Fort, secretary general of the National Commission on Decentralization and Interregional Cooperation of France, delegate for the external action of local authorities of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The document envisages deepening of Azerbaijan-France cooperation in various areas and the creation of a relevant committee.
Dec. 20
Creation of metallurgical complex in Azerbaijan to reduce dependence on import
The volume of investments for the establishment of a metallurgical complex, consisting of five plants, in Azerbaijan is estimated at 1.225 billion euros, said Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev.
Mustafayev made the remarks during an event titled “Development of metallurgical industry: new challenges and goals” in Baku.
During the event, a contract was signed on construction of a metallurgical complex in the country’s Sumgait city.
The contract was signed by Chairman of Supervisory Board of Baku Steel Company Rasim Mammadov and Chairman and CEO of Danieli Group Gianpietro Benedetti.
“The construction of the complex is planned to be completed in three years. During the construction work, 4,000 new jobs will be opened as part of the project, and more than 1,200 permanent jobs will be created after commissioning of the complex,” said Mustafayev.
Mustafayev went on to say that the project will be fully implemented thanks to private investments.
Dec. 21
Ilham Aliyev meets delegation led by Turkish economy minister
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received a delegation led by Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Nihat Zeybekci.
The sides underlined the importance of Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council's meetings in strengthening bilateral ties, and exchanged views on the development of economic cooperation between the two countries.
World Bank approves allocation of loan for TANAP
The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $400 million loan for Turkey and a $400 million loan for Azerbaijan for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) Project, according to WB website.
This project is part of the Southern Gas Corridor Program.
The recipients of funding are the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Closed Joint Stock Company with the guarantee of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Boru Hatlari İle Petrol Tasima Anonim Sirketi (BOTAS) with the guarantee of the Republic of Turkey.
Azerbaijan urges Turkic Council states to boost mutual trade
Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with the countries of the Turkic Council amounted to $1.9 billion in January-October 2016, Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said.
He made the remarks in Baku during the 6th meeting of economy ministers of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States.
“Decrease is observed in the trade turnover between our countries as a result of the global economic processes,” he noted. “However, despite this fact, we have great opportunities to increase mutual trade. Therefore, I propose to analyze the range of products our countries sell.”
“For example, if the goods imported by Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are present in the list of products exported by Azerbaijan, these countries could import these goods directly from Azerbaijan and vice versa,” said the minister.
AIIB approves $600M loan for TANAP project
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved allocation of a loan worth $600 million for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, the bank said in a message.
The AIIB said that the loan will be allocated for the Southern Gas Corridor CJSC.
Dec. 22
Ilham Aliyev receives BP Chief Executive Officer
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Chief Executive Officer of BP Robert Dudley.
The sides also discussed progress of the Southern Gas Corridor project and work done under Shahdeniz-2 project, BP’s activities in Shafag-Asiman block and in Shallow Water Absheron Peninsula and prospects for BP’s role in developing Azerbaijani oil and gas industry.
ADB, Azerbaijan sign $500M loan agreement
Azerbaijan’s government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement on a $500-million loan, according to the document posted on the ADB website.
The loan was approved by the ADB on Dec. 7. It is designed to cover social maintenance, creating jobs and diversifying the economy to mitigate the adverse impact of decrease in oil prices.
Azerbaijan discloses priority areas for Poland’s investments
Agriculture, tourism, oil industry, chemical industry, industrial parks are priority areas for Poland’s investments, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Natig Aliyev said.
The minister made remarks at the seventh meeting of the Azerbaijan-Poland intergovernmental commission on trade-economic cooperation in Warsaw.
According to the embassy, Azerbaijan and Poland signed the protocol following the meeting.
The meetings with businessmen were held in Warsaw as part of the visit.