European companies are ready to invest huge financial resources to support Azerbaijan’s economy, said President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev addressing the Plenary Session of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels Nov. 24. Since Azerbaijan gained its independence, the investments of the European Union to the Azerbaijani economy have exceeded $20 billion, said President Aliyev. This demonstrates the presence of a good investment climate, he added.
The head of state noted that the partnership with the European Union is one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy. The two sides started active negotiations on the new agreement in February 2017, said the Azerbaijani president. He expressed hope that these negotiations will be finalized soon. This will create an opportunity to continue cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union, added President Aliyev.
He noted that the European Union is the major trade partner of Azerbaijan. The president added that 50 percent of the country’s trade accounts for the share of EU member countries. At the same time, Azerbaijan is actively developing relations with the member countries in a bilateral format, said President Aliyev.
Azerbaijan adopted a declaration on strategic partnership with nine countries that are members of the European Union, he continued, this means that one third of the EU member states consider Azerbaijan as their strategic partner. This is very important for a young independent country and, of course, Azerbaijan considers the future agreement with the European Union as another important stage in strengthening strategic relations, added President Aliyev.
