Sahib Mammadov: Logistic barriers to be removed between Azerbaijan and Russia

The implementation of the Agroexpress project in Azerbaijan will create an opportunity for more rational use of the transit and logistics potential of Azerbaijan and Russia and will strengthen the transport and trade status of the region.

As Report informs, Deputy Minister of Economy Sahib Mammadov said in Xacmaz at a solemn ceremony of sending the first freight train as part of the launch of the Agroexpress project in Azerbaijan.

"The advantages that the Agroexpress project gives over time may become attractive for the regional countries. After all, in the future, the project can also be used along the route of the North-South international transport corridor," the deputy minister said.

According to him, this is another successful step in joint activities and a clear example of the successful implementation of joint projects.

"Azerbaijan and Russia are friendly countries, strategic partners. It is gratifying that relations between our countries, based on mutual respect, are developing steadily. We have a number of formats where we actively cooperate, including the intergovernmental commission, as well as working groups between relevant structures. Bilateral visits and meetings, ongoing events, mutual investments in the economies of both countries, joint projects play an important role in expanding our ties. The signed documents on bilateral cooperation further cement the legal basis of our relations," S. Mammadov said.

Agroexpress is a specialized service for the delivery of goods using accelerated trains, which allows to reduce delivery times and cut transportation costs thanks to efficiently built export-import logistics. It is expected that the successful implementation of the project will lead to a significant reduction in the costs of mutual deliveries by rail by eliminating logistical barriers, which in turn will create competitive and most favorable conditions in mutual trade.

"Given that last year, agricultural products dominated in the structure of exports from Azerbaijan to Russia, it can be expected that this project will serve to bolster this sector of mutual trade. Over the past year, the trade turnover between our countries increased by 12% and reached the level of $3 billion. At the same time, exports from Azerbaijan increased by 29%, and imports from Russia by 5.7%," the deputy minister said.

As Sahib Mammadov noted, for Azerbaijani producers of agricultural products, this project is a kind of additional incentive to increase the volume of supplies in the Russian direction.

"Thanks to the coordinated work of the relevant departments of the two countries, all issues of a legal, administrative and technical nature are resolved in working mode. Today, Russia issued the relevant permits for the import of tomatoes from 227 Azerbaijani enterprises and apples from 77 enterprises into the country. Russia also extended the permit for the transportation of fruits and vegetables from Azerbaijan to Russia by carriages until April 1, 2022. The implementation of the Agroexpress project will also significantly ease the burden on transportation of goods in both directions by road, thereby eliminating the problem with the accumulation of trucks on the border of the two countries.”

In the implementation of this project, and in general in the development of trade and investment relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, the Russian Export Center performs an important mission. In July and November last year, with the organization and active participation of the REC, business missions of Russian companies to Azerbaijan were carried out. The result of these events was the signed documents for the implementation of various projects in Azerbaijan, including in the liberated territories.

"In general, Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the transport sector. The development of the logistics potential, the expansion of our country's transit capabilities, the formation of an appropriate modern logistics infrastructure, the implementation of various transport projects are always in the focus of attention of the country's leadership and are extremely important from the point of view of economic development in general.

“To achieve the stated goals, the state provides comprehensive support, large investments are made in the transport sector. Azerbaijan has the largest marine fleet in the Caspian Sea, which plays a special role in organizing cargo transportation in the Caspian Sea. Of course, Alat International Sea Trade Port is an important part of our transport infrastructure. Among the transport projects, it is important to note the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, projects are also being implemented along the North-South, North-West and South-West transport corridors," Sahib Mammadov summed up.

I am sure that with the implementation of Agroexpress, additional opportunities will appear in cargo transportation, and thanks to this project, bilateral cooperation will expand and traditional friendly ties between our countries will be strengthened.

I think that the results of the project will not be long in coming and very soon we will see the real fruits of the work being done.