Baroness Nicholson: UK, Azerbaijan built up tremendously strong relationship

Report presents an interview with Baroness Emma Nicholson, UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan.

- This year marks the 30th anniversary of UK-Azerbaijani relations. What in your view have been the most significant aspects of the relationship?

- Over the last 30 years, the UK and Azerbaijan have built up a tremendously strong relationship. This ranges from personal friendship right up to the Southern Gas Corridor. Now its powering the huge portion of countries through Europe. That’s a tremendous achievement, its unique and that’s perhaps why we must mark it out with the 30th anniversary more than anything else.

- How has the COVID pandemic affected trade between both countries? What is being done to ensure trade continues to flow between both countries?

- We have learned during the COVID pandemic that human relationship cannot be done just by Zoom and email, telephones, and letters. It has to be face to face communication. We now understand each other much better than by thousands Zoom calls. I think we have learned the higher value of seeing each other during the whole COVID pandemic. Of course, it affected business and industries drastically, it affected everything, it lost a lot of lives of all age groups all over the globe.

The up side is, as soon it disappeared, even though it is not fully gone yet, the huge value and uptake of immunizations, jabs and boosters have really opened the door to the reenergization of normal life. Economy is immediately working up again. In my little area where I live in London, close to the British Parliament, almost all the little shops shut, and we all were doom and gloom. Almost everyone has started reopening doors, repaints the front, recleaning the inside and being back in business again. Hopefully, COVID has done short term damage. With business and industry, the recovery potential is so good that I’m not worried about that at all.

- How can the UK help Azerbaijan transform its energy industry from oil and gas to renewables?

- We ourselves in the UK also have oil and gas. We have been very fortunate. But we believe that there are other ways of making energy, powering our lives, so we are working on a renewable energy through BP and other companies with the ministries here. We believe that we can be market leader with Azerbaijan on that as well. There’s not just one source of energy in life, there are multiple. We have all sorts of proposals, BP particularly has all sorts of proposals in front of the government now on the renewable energy, new sources of energy. I am hoping to come here on new contracts almost soon.

- How can the UK contribute further to the reconstruction of the liberated territories?

- The UK is a truly multinational country: we have, I think, every single nation living and working in Britain. That is one of the offerings that we make to Azerbaijan. I had the good chance today and yesterday of helping launch the new British chamber of commerce here and also meeting with your ministers to discuss how we can make more businesses going ahead, and of course nothing could be better than having your businessmen coming to see us in London. Most of our businesses surprisingly are not like BP, but small and medium sized businesses. That’s where our real strength lies and if you think about it, that’s where the strength of all countries lies. It’s too dangerous to rely on only one or two companies. Free market is the way forward because there you have all sorts, sizes and types of companies.

I really suggest the businesses here to visit us. The British embassy here is magnificent, I myself trade envoy for the prime minister of Britain, we will set up the right meetings for you. You tell us what business you are from and we will match you with similar businesses to see if you can make a deal.

- What official meetings have you had so far and what have been the main outcomes?

- I have had a number of official meetings. I came from the office of the first vice president [March 9], which was massively pleasant meeting. We had a very great deal to discuss, part of which was the recovery of the previously occupied territories and what is going on there. Britain again has a lot to offer with demining for example. We have experts in that. We had a very good discussion. I have seen the relevant ministers, which was wonderful: the minister of economy, of energy and so on.

This afternoon I went to see the national autistic center. It is outstanding. To equip the children who were born with autism to live a norm life and to be able to ride, converse with everybody is so wonderful.

- How do you see the prospects of cooperation in healthcare?

- The first vice president and I discussed healthcare. Yesterday we saw one of the big private hospitals. During my previous visit I also learned the way pubic hospitals are helped to moving ahead in terms of insurance policy, so it would be affordable for the total population.