The trade turnover between Russia and Azerbaijan has recovered to the pandemic level and will reach $3 billion by the end of the year, Russian Ambassador to Baku Mikhail Bocharnikov said, speaking on Wednesday at the opening of a business mission of Russian companies in Azerbaijan.
"In foreign trade, we have already reached the pre-pandemic level of 2019, and the trade turnover between the two countries this year will be at the level of $3 billion," the head of the Russian diplomatic mission said. According to Bocharnikov, an important factor is that the trade turnover is carried out "mainly on the positions of the non-oil sector." "This opens quite a lot of opportunities for a variety of interaction," he added.
The ambassador stressed that great importance is now attached to improving export opportunities for Azerbaijani agricultural products to Russia. "In recent years, the involvement of rail transport in the supply of agricultural products has intensified, while previously the main emphasis was on road transport. Our transport systems are intensifying and increasingly have a positive impact on business opportunities here," Bocharnikov noted.
In 2020, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia decreased by 11.6% year-on-year to $2.671 billion. The decline was due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The business mission of Russian companies in Azerbaijan involves more than 30 Russian companies working in the field of development of urban transport infrastructure, design and construction of settlements in the "digital city" format, energy, supply of railway and automotive equipment, rail products and modern digital solutions. This is the second business mission of Russian companies this year. The first one took place in July. Eleven Russian companies presented their products there.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS