Economic cooperation is one of the key pillars of Azerbaijan-Netherlands relations, Elchin Amirbayov, Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Special Assignments, said in an interview with The Holland Times, according to Report.
"Trade between the two countries has grown steadily in recent years, increasing by 35 percent during the first ten months of 2025 alone. Mutual investments are also on the rise. Nevertheless, significant untapped potential is still there to further expand and diversify our economic interaction," he said.
Amirbayov noted that the purpose of his visit to the Netherlands is to further contribute to the current positive trajectory and "to touch base with our Dutch counterparts on the prospects and plans for the year ahead in order to further deepen our partnership."
He said that the two countries cooperate closely in the energy sector, including through growing energy supplies from Azerbaijan to the Netherlands. Dutch companies are actively involved in projects at the Port of Baku, including seaport development, shipbuilding, transport logistics, and engineering works aimed at enhancing its capacity as a multimodal transport hub.
"Looking ahead, future cooperation will focus on the new opportunities in seaport expansion. Agriculture and water management are also potentially key areas of bilateral collaboration. Dutch expertise in sustainable agriculture, greenhouse technologies, and water management can play a vital role in strengthening our economic ties. At the same time, cooperation in high-tech sectors and renewable energy – particularly wind, solar, and green hydrogen – offers promising opportunities to further deepen our partnership," he said.
Amirbayov also added that Enhancing cooperation in culture, education, sports, and tourism is essential for fostering people-to people contacts and mutual understanding.
"In recent years, collaboration in these areas has gained significant momentum, as also reflected in the growing number of Azerbaijani students studying in the Netherlands," he said.
Speaking about Baku's cooperation with the EU and NATO, Amirbayov said that there are favorable conditions and new opportunities to further expand and deepen partnership and strategic interaction both with the European Union and with the North Atlantic Alliance: "We therefore hope that the coming year will, in this regard, embody the continued forward-looking development of our relations for the benefit of Azerbaijan and its partners in the EU and NATO."
He also voiced hope that the peace agreement with Armenia will be signed next year.
"Our countries initialed in August draft peace agreement which, hopefully, could be signed next year <...> Our goal is to make sure the peace between our countries is durable and irreversible. To achieve it, constitutional framework of Armenia needs to be brought into compliance with the letter and spirit of the initialed peace agreement, after which it could be signed and ratified by both sides," he said.
Amirbayov also touched upon the issue of mine threat noting that almost 14 percent of the total territory of Azerbaijan is contaminated by landmines and UXOs.
"Despite enormous efforts for the last five years, up to date we managed to clean up only one-fifth of the contaminated territory. The presence of landmines continues to pose a serious safety concern," he said.
He said that since the ceasefire of November 2020, 414 people have been recorded as landmine victims, with incidents continuing to occur.
"While the Government of Azerbaijan covers 95 percent of all the expenses related to demining, continued solidarity with us on the part of international community, including from the Netherlands, would be highly appreciated," Amirbayov said.