BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 2. The Czech Republic is looking forward develop cooperation in railroad sector with Azerbaijan, Jozef Sikela, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade, told Trend.
“The construction of the Azerbaijani part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was a peak involvement of the Czech companies in this project. There were approximately 10 companies from the Czech Republic participating in the project. This was a substantial project volume-wise for our economies. And this is a good base for developing such projects in the future,” he said.
As the minister pointed out, in general, the business volume between the two countries has increased significantly over the recent years.
“There was a huge increase observed in exports from Azerbaijan to the Czech Republic – 145 percent. Czech exports to Azerbaijan, in turn, were slightly lower – increasing by around 50 percent,” the minister noted.
At our meetings with the Minister of Economy and the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan we have agreed that we are likeminded countries, sharing similar values, we want to continue expanding mutual business circles, Minister Sikela added.
The reconstruction of the Azerbaijani part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was completed by a group of Czech companies led by Moravia Steel in 2019.
At the same time, Azerbaijan continues to invest in this route, pledging to invest over $120 million. As a result, the capacity will be expanded from 1 to 5 million tons.
