Indian Ambassador: Azerbaijan is an important partner in North-South Transport Corridor - INTERVIEW

Report's interview with Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bawitlung Vanlalvawna on the occasion of the Republic Day of India.

As you know, on June 21, 32 containers departed from Finland’s capital Helsinki to the Indian port of Nava Sheva on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that also crosses Azerbaijan. How do you think the INSTC project can help Azerbaijan become a regional transportation hub?

It was indeed encouraging that the first shipment of goods from Finland bound for India on the INSTC route commenced its journey on June 21. This is also timely as stakeholders in all the countries along the route including Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran are making efforts to operationalise the INSTC to make it an attractive transport route for transaction of goods between these countries. Studies and dry-runs have shown that the 7200 km long INSTC, which is a multi-modal network of sea, rail and road route for transportation of cargo between India to Russia and Europe through Iran and Azerbaijan, when fully operational, is expected to reduce the transportation cost by up to 30% and delivery time of cargo by around 40%. This will also have corresponding benefits for bilateral trade relations between India and Azerbaijan as the segment of INSTC between the two countries will also have proportional savings on transportation costs and time and this will increase the competitiveness of goods in the destination markets and bring about quantitative increase in the volume of our trade.

Azerbaijan is an important partner in the INSTC project as it is located at a very important junction of the transport corridor. Therefore, Azerbaijan has a crucial role in the successful implementation of the INSTC project. Azerbaijan's locational advantages combined with the tremendous investments the country has made to upgrade and improve its transport infrastructures in recent years will undoubtedly contribute to making Azerbaijan an important regional transportation hub particularly when INSTC becomes fully operational.

How do you assess the progress achieved in transportation cooperation between Azerbaijan and India? What prospects are there for further growth of India-Azerbaijan cooperation in this sector?

India and Azerbaijan are key members of the INSTC project. The two countries have interacted at various levels to expedite the implementation of INSTC in the past. More recently, Indian representatives participated in the 4th meeting of the Working Group on the development of INSTC held in Baku in November 2019. The sides analyzed the information on the existing cargo coming from India to Azerbaijan, Russia and the EU countries, and discussed ways on how to encourage the use of the INSTC route for transporting goods between these countries.

In June 2021, the Embassy of India in Baku in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers Commerce and Industry organized an online interaction between the logistic companies of India and Azerbaijan, in which the participants were invited to promote the use of INSTC to move goods between the countries along the route. The interaction also provided an opportunity to present the various incentives offered by the Chabahar Port in Iran, which India has proposed for inclusion in the INSTC. We are very hopeful that a favourable decision will be taken on this by the members of INSTC during the INSTC Coordination Council Meeting, which is expected to be held in Baku in the coming months.

There are many areas where the two countries could collaborate further in this sector. For instance, for smooth movement and real time tracking of cargo containers, the two sides could enhance collaboration between our customs, logistic companies, finance companies etc. It will also be important to ensure that these agencies are technology driven for optimal efficiency. Therefore, IT companies of the two countries could also have important roles to play in the operations of the INSTC. We believe that the Indian IT industry, which employs over 4 million people and with around $150 billion worth of exports, has a lot to offer in this area as well.

Which other economic and investment opportunities, in your opinion, are there between the two countries?

Indian companies including ONGC Videsh Limited have an existing investment of over $1.2 billion in Azerbaijan. Other Indian companies are also exploring more opportunities in the Azerbaijani energy and infrastructure sector as well. This is understandable considering the fact that India was Azerbaijan’s second largest market for oil exports during the first five months of this year. In fact, bilateral trade between the two countries has grown by over 21 percent during this period as compared to last year.

We also see good opportunities to collaborate in the field of agriculture, food products, pharmaceutical sector, IT and communications, electrical and engineering products, textiles, ceramic tiles, tea, spices etc. We, therefore, need to continue to encourage large business enterprises of the two countries to closely look at the opportunities between the two countries and this include mutual investments in each other's economies.

Could the two countries open trade houses to boost bilateral trade?

I am aware that some countries have opened trade houses in Azerbaijan and at the same time Azerbaijan has also opened trade houses in other countries. This is definitely an area which the business communities of the two countries should look at closely to see if there are overriding benefits for adopting this approach to increase our bilateral trade. As it is, before the pandemic we regularly had business delegations from India who visited Azerbaijan to explore business opportunities particularly exports. Every year Baku hosts two “Best of India” Trade Fairs, which are participated by over 70 Indian companies each time. In my view, what is really important is that we increase the frequency and level of contacts between the business communities of our two countries and plan visits by delegations and participation in trade fairs to boost bilateral trade as soon as conditions permit international travel. Meanwhile, we should continue our regular interactions through online platforms.

Taking into account the coronavirus pandemic, do the two countries cooperate in the pharmaceutical sector?

I think there is a general recognition of the strength of India’s pharmaceutical industry in various parts of the world including in Azerbaijan. During last year, despite the constraints posed by the pandemic, we have seen a 20% increase in India’s exports of pharmaceutical products to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani agencies are cooperating with Indian companies for registering their products in Azerbaijan as well as encouraging them to make investments in Azerbaijani market. Contacts have been made between an Indian manufacturer of COVID-19 vaccines and a counterpart in Azerbaijan and there are opportunities for collaborations in this field as well. In the past, a reputed Indian company has also collaborated with a leading business house in Azerbaijan to provide technology inputs to set up one of the first pharma manufacturing plants in Azerbaijan for contract manufacturing.

How do you assess the level of cultural cooperation between India and Azerbaijan?

India and Azerbaijan share long historical and deep cultural ties. Indian music and dances are popular and appreciated by the general population in Azerbaijan. The two countries have frequent cultural contacts in recent times including visits by artists and cultural troupes. India and Azerbaijan have signed a Cultural Exchange Programme in 2018 which provides for collaboration and exchange of artists. Our celebrations of the International Day of Yoga have grown in numbers with every passing year. We hope to be able to resume our activities in the future to showcase Indian culture through dances, music, arts and literature to the Azerbaijani public. I also believe through our various outreach programmes including promotion of different cultural facets and festivals of our states in India in collaboration with our diaspora, we will be able to bring Indian culture to many of our friends in Azerbaijan.

India will be celebrating 75 years of Independence in 2022. How will this be celebrated in Azerbaijan?

The celebration of 75 years of Independence of India or India@75 is actually a festival to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements. Following a call by our Honourable Prime Minister, the celebrations will be divided in five sub-heads - Freedom struggle, Ideas at 75, Achievements at 75, Actions at 75 and Resolve at 75 and during the next two years or so we will also be planning our celebrations based on these themes. India has come a long way since we achieved our independence in 1947. It is therefore a matter of pride to celebrate India’s success as a republic and its standing as the largest democracy in the world. We will also celebrate the progress India has made by growing its economy manifold during the past 75 years. Today, India is the fifth largest economy and an important contributor to the stability and growth of the global economy. As a country we continue to aspire to continue our path of rapid growth to reach a $5 trillion economy by 2025 - a goal which we hope to achieve by embarking on a very important movement - AatmaNirbhar Bharat, which aims at increasing the share of India in the global economy.

In Azerbaijan, we have already commenced our celebrations of India@75 since March 2021 and have organised various cultural programmes and Yoga events. In the coming months, in collaboration with local authorities, we plan to have a tree planting event and release a commemorative stamp. We will also be organising quiz and essay competitions and seminars in collaboration with Indian diaspora associations and leading universities in Azerbaijan. If conditions permit, we also hope to host cultural troupes from India in the coming months. All the upcoming programmes of the celebrations will be regularly posted on Indian Embassy Facebook page @indiainazerbaijan and I invite all our Azerbaijani friends to join in our celebrations.