Baku, Budapest mull economic cooperation

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan and Hungary have discussed the prospects for economic cooperation between the two countries.

Shahin Mustafayev, Azerbaijani Minister of Economy and Industry and co-chair of Azerbaijan-Hungary joint commission on economic cooperation met with Laszlo Kover, the speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly on June 18, AzerTac state news agency reported.

Mustafayev hailed successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Hungary in various fields, including political, humanitarian and other fields, expressing importance of the political will of the heads of state, reciprocal visits and negotiations in expanding cooperation.

Highlighting the first European Games in Azerbaijan, which started on June 12 and will last until June 28, Mustafayev highly estimated the preparations for the Games. He emphasized that Hungarian athletes participate in this sporting event and show good results.

The official praised Hungary’s support to Azerbaijan’s fair position in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding Armenia's aggressive policy is a serious impediment to the development of regional cooperation and double standards are still being applied on the conflict.

Kover expressed his satisfaction with development of bilateral relations. He said his country attaches great importance to relations with Azerbaijan and is interested in developing cooperation between the two countries.

The Hungarian official also noted that he supported the projects on South Gas Corridor.

He further hailed the organization of the first European Games as highly.

The sides discussed a range of questions related to expansion of cooperation in the fields of industry, energy, agriculture, trade and tourism.

Azerbaijan-Hungarian relations are developing successfully. The two countries have signed almost 40 documents thus far. There is a huge capacity for the development of trade and economic cooperation, as Hungarian companies consider the Azerbaijani market as an alternative to the Russian market, on the background of EU sanctions. Hungary is also a good platform for Azerbaijani investors.

Moreover, the governments of both countries have expressed interest in increasing bilateral trade.

Cooperation between the two countries covers areas such as industry, energy, tourism, agriculture, trade, environmental protection, water management, ICT, culture, sports, science and others.

The trade turnover between the two countries in 2014 increased 2.9 times, and from January-February 2015 amounted to 2,881 million dollars, according to Azerbaijan’s data.