BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 6. Azerbaijan and the UK intend to take their bilateral relations to a new level within the framework of a strategic partnership, the UK Minister of State in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Anas Sarwar, told reporters on the sidelines of the 8th meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the government of Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Trend's correspondent reports.
“We truly have strong and long-standing relations. What the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of Azerbaijan are firmly committed to achieving is the further deepening of relations between the peoples of our countries. This strategic partnership will take our relations to a new level,” he said.
According to A. Sarwar, cooperation between the two countries will go beyond traditional collaboration in the energy sector to encompass education, digital innovation, technology, infrastructure, support for the Middle Corridor, and the defense industry.
He also expressed the UK’s interest in expanding mutual investments.
“I want to see here in Azerbaijan not only shared ambitions, but also British companies operating here and investments that will be supported by British export financing. However, I also want to see more investment from Azerbaijan into the UK and more Azerbaijani companies operating in the UK,” A. Sarwar noted.
The 8th meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was held in Baku, co-chaired by Azerbaijan’s Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov and Lord Anas Sarwar, UK Minister of State for Trade at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the current state and prospects for the development of Azerbaijan-UK relations and discussed opportunities to expand cooperation in the areas of political dialogue, economy and trade, energy, transport and digital infrastructure, agriculture, humanitarian affairs, and healthcare. It was emphasized that the United Kingdom has been one of Azerbaijan’s key economic partners for more than three decades. It was noted that, with investments exceeding $39 billion, the United Kingdom is the largest foreign investor in Azerbaijan. Last year, bilateral trade turnover increased by 67 percent. In the first half of the current year, trade turnover increased 5.5-fold, reaching $3.6 billion, while Azerbaijan’s exports to the United Kingdom increased 24-fold.
