Baku hosts Azeri-Egyptian business forum

An Azeri-Egyptian business forum started in Baku on Thursday. 40 Azeri entrepreneurs and a 15-people strong delegation of businessmen headed by Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Faiza Aboul Naga are attending the event.

Azerbaijani Economic Development Minister Heydar Babayev, in his remarks, pointed to the advanced relations between the two countries but expressed disappointment that the bilateral commodities turnover is below desired level.

“As of nine months of 2007, Azeri-Egyptian trade turnover made up only $1.9 million, which is actually a laughable figure,” the minister said.

Babayev said the relations with Egypt, which he regarded as one of the close countries for Azerbaijan, should not be measured by trade ties alone. “Just like in other fields, we will be working to expand economic cooperation with this country.”

Faiza Aboul Naga agreed that there was a need for taking Azeri-Egyptian economic relations to a new level. She told reporters after attending the forum that Egyptian businessmen were ready to invest in Azerbaijan’s economy.

“Notably, we intend to cooperate in the fields of oil and gas, agriculture, technologies and pharmacology,” she said, adding that her country was ready to sign relevant agreements.

Aboul Naga noted that medicine, in particular, vaccines, will be delivered to Azerbaijan from Egypt in the near future.

A large group from Egypt consisting of three delegations is in Baku on a visit to last till Sunday. The visit, which comes after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s fruitful meetings with his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Hosny Mubarak in Cairo this May, aims to boost relations between the two countries. The Egyptian delegation includes senior officials representing ministries dealing with various fields, such as information technologies, healthcare, the economy and investment. It is scheduled to hold meetings with the top Azerbaijani leadership and attend groundbreaking ceremonies of several facilities during the visit.*