President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, co-chair of the Azerbaijan-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation Maxim Oreshkin.

Welcoming members of the delegation, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- Dear Maksim Stanislavovich, dear guests!

Welcome to Azerbaijan! It is good to see you again. The year is drawing to a close. We can already say that it was very successful for the development of our bilateral relations in all areas. Very important top-level meetings took place, two meetings between the presidents – not to mention the meetings that took place on the sidelines of international events. In those meetings with your participation, the basic principles of our cooperation in all areas, including the development of trade and economic ties, were confirmed. The Presidents issued instructions on further work on the implementation of “roadmaps”. I am glad that this process has been very successful.

Also, as part of Mehriban Aliyeva’s visit to Moscow, agreement was reached on expanding the list of “roadmaps” that would cover new areas. This is very important given that the implementation of roadmaps is already yielding good results. Therefore, the addition of new directions to this list, of course, is a logical continuation of our cooperation.

We are concluding the year with good results in terms of increased turnover. This is encouraging, because trade is growing every year, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to build up the existing capacity, as the base keeps growing. Nevertheless, we are seeing the results of active interaction manifested in the growth of trade and in the growth of investments. This issue was also discussed recently during Mehriban Aliyeva’s visit, and it was emphasized that the multibillion-dollar investments from Russia to Azerbaijan and from Azerbaijan to Russia are an indicator, first of all, of our trust in each other, as well as of a favorable investment environment, which is improving both in Russia and in Azerbaijan. We see this in the ratings of the World Bank’s Doing Business report and the Davos Competitiveness Forum. Both Azerbaijan and Russia are improving their positions in these ratings. This is an objective reality. This suggests that the reforms carried out in our countries are yielding specific results.

I also know that there will be an opening of a very important investment project in Azerbaijan today – a pharmaceutical company. This is very gratifying given the fact that the Azerbaijani market is growing in this direction, the population is growing, and so is consumption. Of course, we are interested in saturating the market with our own products. In this case, Russian production in Azerbaijan is a good indicator of our relations, as is the case in other areas – in engineering, energy and transport. The construction of a bridge across the Samur River is almost over, which is also the result of the fact that all decisions made at the highest level are being implemented. I think that this is one of the main achievements of our relations. We raise specific questions, specifically address them and see good results.

Of course, I cannot but note with satisfaction the restoration in its original form of the "Azerbaijan" pavilion at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements. I watched the opening of this pavilion on television and there were many reports on our channels afterwards. This, of course, is a very significant event for our relations. It is a tribute to our common history. I also think that this center will actively promote Azerbaijani goods to Russian markets.

In other words, we see positive results in all areas of our cooperation. We can already draw conclusions. I am sure that the next year will also be very successful because there is a very serious intention to strengthen our relations. A meeting of the intergovernmental commission will also be held today. I am sure that a wide range of issues will be discussed and specific instructions will be issued for their implementation. So I am sure that your visit will be very fruitful. I wish you a pleasant time in Baku.

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Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, co-chair of the Azerbaijan-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation Maxim Oreshkin extended President Vladimir Putin’s greetings to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for Vladimir Putin`s greetings and asked the minister to extend his greetings to the Russian President.