The second meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation between the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the government of the Republic of Korea was held in Baku.
The Azerbaijani delegation was led by co-chair of the commission, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Elmir Velizade, the Korean delegation was led by the co-chair of the commission, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Park Kyung.
Broad prospects for cooperation between countries in the field of ICT, e-government, transport, energy, science, culture and other areas were discussed at the event. Active cooperation between the two countries within the framework of a number of international organizations, in particular the UN, was also noted. The sides exchanged views on macroeconomic indicators of Azerbaijan and Korea, as well as on the volume of trade between the two countries and emphasized the existence of great potential for expanding current economic relations.
The meeting participants highly appreciated Azerbaijan’s efforts to diversify the economy to reduce its dependence on oil export. The Azerbaijani side said that most of the investments attracted from Korea in 1995-2019 was invested in the non-oil sector. It was noted that 74 Korean companies have been registered in Azerbaijan, which carry out activities in the field of industry, construction, trade, services and transport, and there is great potential for attracting investments in other areas.
It was noted that the Republic of Korea is a priority country for Azerbaijan in terms of economic cooperation. Cooperation between the two countries is developing, especially in the areas of infrastructure, energy, construction, transport, information technologies, the environment and alternative energy. The Azerbaijani side stressed that Korea is a reliable partner and expanding economic ties is a common goal for both countries. Moreover, the participation of Korean companies in large projects implemented through state financing in Azerbaijan, as well as the importance of increasing Korean investments in the non-oil sector and social spheres was noted with appreciation.
In order to exchange information on exhibitions, fairs, conferences, business forums and other events held in both countries, it was proposed to organize business forums for businessmen, as well as provide mutual support in finding business partners.
The Azerbaijani side invited technical universities and technology-oriented companies of the Republic of Korea to participate in the activities of the Technology Transfer Center, created by the Innovation Agency under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The meeting of the commission also highlighted the importance of further developing trade and economic cooperation and increasing efforts to bring export-oriented products of both countries to other markets.
It was noted that Azerbaijan is Korea’s main trading partner in the South Caucasus region.
Following the discussions, the protocol of the second meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea was signed.
