Azerbaijan and Israel Aimed at Increasing Mutual Trade Turnover

The creation of the intergovernmental commission of Azerbaijan and Israel has been one of the outcomes of the visit of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to Baku.

In general, four documents providing for cooperation in the field of agriculture, standardization and elimination of double taxation were signed between Azerbaijan and Israel.

Press Statements by President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also showed satisfaction with the bilateral cooperation of the parties.

Thus, the President of Azerbaijan said that the establishment of the intergovernmental commission will contribute to the growth of trade turnover and its differentiation.

"Despite the fact that the volume of trade is at a good level, it is mainly formed by Azeri oil exports to Israel. We want to differentiate it, "Aliyev said.

Turning to military cooperation, the President of Azerbaijan said that the value of contracts signed so far by companies of Azerbaijan and Israel is 4 billion 850 million dollars and the majority of these contracts have already been implemented.

In turn, Netanyahu said the two sides cooperate closely in the field of energy.

"Today we are negotiating not only for the supply of Azerbaijani oil, but also imports of Azerbaijani gas to Israel," he said.

According to him, the gas supply can be carried out on Turkish territory by pipeline under construction (Trans-Anatolian Pipeline - TANAP).

The Prime Minister of Israel said that energy is just one of the areas of cooperation between the two countries and there is a potential to expand cooperation in the fields of agriculture, information technology and tourism.

It should be noted that Israel annually consumes about 12 million tons of oil and is one of the largest importers of oil from Azerbaijan. Deliveries of Azerbaijani oil comprise approximately 40% of all deliveries of "black gold" to Israel.

In general, Israel is in the 10^th place in terms of Azerbaijan's trade turnover with other countries. In the first 10 months of 2016, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to 471 million 143 thousand dollars. The share of trade between the two countries amounts to 3.33% of the total volume of foreign trade of Azerbaijan. Israel occupies second place in the list of countries exporting from Azerbaijan. Exports from Azerbaijan to Israel during the reporting period amounted to 457 million 799 thousand dollars, or 6.36% of total exports. And imports to Azerbaijan amounted to 13 million 343 thousand dollars, 0.19% of total imports into the country. ----71D