UAE, Azerbaijan enhance economic, trade, investment cooperation: Azeri Minister of Economy

BAKU, 17th February, 2023 (WAM) -- Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the UAE-Azerbaijan Joint Economic Committee, said the UAE and Azerbaijan have established strong relations that go beyond their commercial and economic cooperation.

In a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Jabbarov highlighted his country’s keenness to enhance its economic and trade cooperation with the UAE, noting that their trade exchange totalled AED3.64 billion in 2022.

Jabbarov pointed out that the two countries have embarked on a wide range of joint investments in oil and gas, renewable energy, petrochemicals and agriculture sectors. These investments will positively impact trade and investment ties between the two countries.

He added that Azerbaijan's first solar power plant will begin commercial operations this year. It is being conducted in cooperation with Masdar, as well as other projects being implemented as part of the related agreements signed between the Ministry of Energy in Azerbaijan and the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and Masdar Company to invest in solar and wind power and produce nearly 2GW of electricity each in Phases I and II.

Jabbarov stressed that the two friendly countries have significant potential in the field of energy, as they are both focussed on accelerating their transition to green, clean and renewable energy, in addition to maintaining conventional oil and gas.

Azerbaijan exports energy to neighbouring countries, such as Georgia, Turkey, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria. It has been providing them with crude oil since 2005 and natural gas since 2015, as well as to the European Union (EU) since 2020, he added.

Jabbarov stated that the UAE is popular with Azeri tourists, as it offers a distinguished tourism experience to all international tourists. Azerbaijan also offers a wide variety of tourist attractions to Emirati citizens and residents, he said.

The two countries provide a wide range of investment opportunities to businessmen and investors in light of the two countries' objectives of diversifying economic resources and focusing on manufacturing, services, trade, finance, agriculture and digital transformation, the minister explained.

Jabbarov noted that the UAE and Azerbaijan are key logistics hubs worldwide. His country is offering significant attention to investing in railways, roads and aviation, and the UAE is a regional and international logistics hub.