Minister of Trade: We observe growing interest of Czech entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan - INTERVIEW

Baku. 29 March. REPORT.AZ/ Report News Agency has interviewed the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Tomáš Hüner as below:

- Which steps have Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic taken to develop economy between two countries? Does the Czech Republic plans to have joint projects with Azerbaijan in the near future?

- Azerbaijan represents the most important business and strategic partner of the Czech Republic from the South Caucasus Region (in 2017 it generated 88% of the total turnover of the region). The Azerbaijani market is very promising for the Czech Republic, especially with regard to exports of Azerbaijani oil. In recent years, we have also been able to observe the growing interest of Czech entrepreneurs in this country. This is evidenced by the visit of the President of the Czech Republic to Azerbaijan accompanied by a business delegation in September 2015. In May 2016, a large delegation from Azerbaijan  visited the Czech Republic under the auspices of the Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan National Assembly, Valeh Alasgarov, who had meetings with the representatives of Czech companies. Last January, Jan Mládek, the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, visited Baku, where the Czech-Azerbaijani business forum was held. The Czech-Azerbaijan Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation plays an important role in deepening the relationship; its fourth meeting took place in January 2017 last year and another is planned for the second half of this year. The Czech Republic will continue to intensify its economic relations with Azerbaijan within the framework of the Czech-Azerbaijan Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation, business missions and separate negotiations of representatives of the government and corporate sectors.

Given the huge economic potential of Azerbaijan, Czech companies are interested in creating joint ventures in the future. Meanwhile, Czech companies as suppliers have been successfully involved in various projects in the country, totalling $ 16 billion. A recent example is the signing of a memorandum between Tatra Trucks a.s. and the Ganja Automobile Plant, under which Tatra trucks will be produced in Azerbaijan from 2018.

- Azerbaijan is diversifying its economy and developing the non-oil sector. In this regard, does Czech Republic want to invest in Azerbaijan?

- The current state of Czech-Azerbaijani economic cooperation is based primarily on the oil trade. However, there are broad possibilities for developing economic relations in other fields, whose potential has not yet been fulfilled. The opportunity for Czech companies can represent the fields that are activated in the efforts of the Azerbaijan Government to diversify the economy and support the development of the non-oil sector of the economy. These are mainly agriculture, chemical and manufacturing, engineering industries, services (especially transport, logistics and tourism) and IT. Great opportunities are on-going, for example new projects for the modernisation of the transport infrastructure, e.g. the reconstruction of the road and railway network together with the supply of means of transport. Czech companies can also succeed as suppliers in the field of pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering, consumer electronics and environmental technologies. There is great potential for future cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources. The technologies of Czech companies can find good applications in the fields of wind and water energy and improving the efficiency of the energy industry. In Azerbaijan, emphasis is also being placed on the construction of sewage treatment plants and water treatment plants and the cleaning of contaminated soil.

- How can two countries cooperate in agriculture?

- Between the two countries, there is great potential for cooperation in the field of agriculture, as evidenced by the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2015. On the basis of this document, reciprocal visits of delegations from both countries took place during the past year at international exhibitions of the agricultural and food industries in Baku (World Food / Caspian Agro 2017) and České Budějovice (Bread Basket – International Agricultural Fair 2017). Veterinary and phytosanitary cooperation agreements are being prepared, to strengthen the contractual base and facilitate trade between the two countries. An important area for cooperation in the agrarian area is the mutual exchange of experience in the field of artificial fertilisation, embryo transfer, breeding and livestock farming and increasing the volumes of exported agricultural products. There is also room for the establishment of joint enterprises for the sorting, preserving and labelling of agricultural products.

- How do you assess the opportunities of Azerbaijan to invest in the Czech Republic?

- The Czech Republic is becoming an attractive tourist destination for Azerbaijani people. Prague, Karlovy Vary and other Czech spa towns are increasingly targeting Azerbaijan travellers due to the existence of a direct flight between Prague and Baku, which started operating in 2013. In addition, in 2016, Azerbaijanis more often acquired real estate in attractive locations in the Czech Republic. Prospective areas for Azerbaijan investments in the Czech Republic are also the petrochemical, electrotechnical and engineering industries as well as energy and natural resources. There is also potential for cooperating on Azerbaijan investment projects on a regional level.