"Our Goal Is to Increase Trade Volume with Azerbaijan"

Trade Minister Pekcan: "We aim to increase trade volume with Azerbaijan. Our target is to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Azerbaijan."

Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan stated that they aim to increase trade volume with Azerbaijan, saying, "Our target is to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Azerbaijan." According to a statement from the Trade Ministry, Pekcan met with Sahibe Gafarova, Chairperson of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, who came to Turkey for various contacts. In her remarks during the meeting held at the Ministry, Pekcan noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan are friendly and fraternal nations, expressing her satisfaction with the visit. Pekcan stated that bilateral trade volume between the two countries reached USD 4.4 billion in 2019, noting that this figure falls short of reflecting the true potential of the two nations, and that their aim is to increase trade volume between them. Recalling that a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council Meeting was held between Turkey and Azerbaijan on 25 February 2020 and that a Preferential Trade Agreement was signed on the occasion of this meeting as an important step in increasing bilateral trade volume, Pekcan said, "We are pleased that the internal approval process of the Agreement has been completed in Azerbaijan. We will, God willing, complete our internal approval process as soon as our Parliament opens. Our target is to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Azerbaijan." Noting that due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, shipments from Turkey to Central Asia through Iran have been disrupted, and that in this context the Georgia-Azerbaijan-Caspian route has gained even greater importance, Pekcan emphasized that they wish this route, and especially the railway, to be used much more actively in trade. Pekcan noted that consultations with Azerbaijan authorities are ongoing regarding reducing transit fees for this purpose.

Work on women entrepreneurship

Referring also to the work of Azerbaijan National Assembly Chairperson Gafarova in the field of women entrepreneurship, Pekcan stated that the Trade Ministry has established a special unit called the "Women and Young Entrepreneurs Export Directorate," and has implemented many important programs such as the Women and Young Entrepreneurs Exporter Training Academy (Export Academy). Drawing attention to the fact that the Export Academy Project has been rated as excellent by the SheTrades Outlook platform of the International Trade Centre established by the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, and has been included among good practice examples, Pekcan stated that they will be able to share their experience in this regard with Azerbaijan. Pekcan noted that they have launched a new grant support program to strengthen women cooperatives and are continuing projects for women to have greater participation in business life, stating, "When women are empowered, families are empowered, and the economy is empowered." Noting that they place great importance on developing the commercial opportunities of Nakhchivan and have conducted special studies in this regard, Pekcan said, "We are satisfied with our cooperation with Azerbaijan. Together with Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikail Jabbarov, we believe we will accomplish even greater things and achieve much higher trade volume."

- "There is potential beyond the current trade volume between the two countries"

Azerbaijan National Assembly Chairperson Gafarova noted that there is potential beyond the current trade volume between the two countries, and stated that through mutual cooperation and joint efforts they will work to increase the current trade volume. Gafarova pointed out that significant support is provided to women both in Turkey and Azerbaijan, and stated that they will be able to conduct joint work with Turkey on developing women entrepreneurship.

Gafarova, also referring to transport and energy projects, stated the following:

"We are one nation, two states. Our relations are based on common language, religion, and history. We are building our future together. We are accomplishing great things with Turkey-Azerbaijan. Projects such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline, the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum Natural Gas Pipeline, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway are some of these. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Project is a railway that will connect the entire Turkic world to one another. This project, brought to life through the joint efforts of two fraternal nations, is an important part of the strategic objectives of Azerbaijan and Turkey to become a transit center between Asia and Europe. I am confident that we will achieve this strategic objective as soon as possible."   Source