Azerbaijan and Belarus: mutual interest in traditional and new areas of cooperation

Baku/15.04.21/Turan: On April 14, the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Belarus, Ilham Aliyev and Alexander Lukashenko, during negotiations in Baku, announced the transition to a "new stage of cooperation" with the inclusion of both traditional spheres of cooperation - oil, military and agricultural, and new promising areas - health care, tourism and high technologies.

The following were signed in the presence of the leaders of the two states: Memorandums of Understanding on cooperation in the field of veterinary medicine, in the energy sector, a memorandum between the Belarusian National Tourism Agency and the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan and a memorandum of understanding between the Belneftechim Concern and SOCAR.

The parties also analyzed the development of the situation around COVID-19 in the world. Lukashenko recalled that mass vaccination of the population is starting in Belarus, for these purposes, drugs created in the country using Russian technologies will be used. However, Belarus will not be able to consume the entire volume of vaccines produced, so they are ready to export them, including to Azerbaijan. The talks is about the Sputnik-V vaccine. “Our proposal (on the supply of vaccines to Azerbaijan) was received not only positively, but also with a certain hope,” Lukashenko said.

As the press secretary of the Azerbaijan Tourism Agency Kenan Guluzade told Turan, the parties agreed to exchange information and experience in the development of this industry, organize mutual trips of tour operators. It is noteworthy that Minsk offered AZAL to open a transit flight to New York to attract more tourists and business people.

So far, Baku and Minsk are connected by direct air communication, like Baku-New York, but other options are not excluded.

Connections in the agrarian sphere

The Minister of Agriculture of Belarus Ivan Krupko, during a meeting in Baku with his Azerbaijani counterpart Inam Kerimov, stressed that over the past 5 years, the mutual trade of agricultural products has increased 3.5 times and this indicates the strategic nature of the partnership.

The turnover of agricultural products and food products between Belarus and Azerbaijan in 2020 reached $ 35 million and increased by 5.3% compared to 2019. Exports of goods - $ 30.4 million (or 110.7%), imports - $ 4.6 million. In January-February 2021, this indicator amounted to $ 6.2 million (increased by 15.6% compared to the same period in 2020) ... At the same time, exports - $ 4.9 million (or 103.3%), imports - $ 1.3 million. Belarus supplies to Azerbaijan a wide range of dairy and meat products, confectionery, imports mainly vegetables and melons, berries and fruits.

“Belarus is interested in continuing bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan in the agricultural sector and in other areas. Belarus agricultural universities are ready to organize internship and retraining courses for specialists in the agro-industrial complex of Azerbaijan, help in organizing advanced training and student exchange, and conduct joint scientific research in the field of agriculture. Joint work on a project to create an enterprise for the production of veterinary drugs based on the Azerbaijan Food Industry Institute is also promising. Belarus is also ready to offer cooperation in the supply of highly productive breeding cattle of Belarusian selection, to cooperate in the study and exchange of experience in the assessment of breeding value, biotechnology, breeding and selection of cattle, horse breeding and sheep breeding. Among the promising areas of cooperation in the agro-industrial complex are the participation of the Belarusian side in the reconstruction and construction of dairy farms and other agricultural facilities in Azerbaijan, the supply of feed and premixes produced by the Belarusian National Biotechnological Corporation, the Ministry of Agriculture of Belarus said.

Do not forget that in Ganja, on the basis of the automobile plant, for many years, The assembly of Belarusian components for tractors and other agricultural equipment has been going on for many years in the city of  Ganja, on the basis of the automobile plant. About 1,200 machines are to be produced in 2021, and some of them will be sent for the needs of the agricultural industry to Turkey.

The President of Azerbaijan said that the experience of Belarus in the creation of agricultural towns is very interesting.

He invited Belarusian companies to take part in the restoration of Karabakh, especially since this region, liberated from the Armenian occupation, was declared a "Green Zone" using high technologies.

Cooperation in the military-industrial complex

The fact that the former Minister of Defense of this country Andrei Ravkov became the new ambassador of Belarus to Azerbaijan demonstrates that the parties will continue successful cooperation in the military-industrial complex, in particular, in the field of high technologies.

According to the Belarusian edition of TUT.by, over the past 10 years of cooperation in this direction, official Minsk supplied Baku with weapons worth over $ 500 million of the widest range, in particular, the Pion self-propelled artillery system (in 10 minutes of firing it delivers more than 500 kg of explosive, designed to destroy objects in the far rear of the enemy).

Also popular were the Belarusian D-30 122 mm howitzers, the Buk-MB air defense system, the T38 Stilet air defense system and the Polonez missile systems.

Belarus specialists helped Azerbaijan to modernize the Osa-AKM air defense system to the level of the Osa-1T and the S-125 air defense missile system to the Pechora-2T level.

In addition, official Minsk has arranged for Azerbaijan the assembly of Belarusian military vehicles - MAZ 6317 and MAZ 5317.

Oil

In 2020, Belarus bought oil from Azerbaijan for $ 244.1 million, and the total purchases of Belarus amounted to $ 257 million (an increase of 14 times by 2019). In 2020, Belarus bought 720 thousand tons of Azerbaijani oil and about 280 thousand tons of non-Azerbaijani oil, which it supplied to the Belarusian refineries of SOCAR Trading.

It is planned to continue deliveries this year, although Russia meets the needs of two Belarusian refineries in raw materials. This approach is explained by the desire of Belarus to diversify sources of raw materials.

It is curious that on April 14, in Baku, Lukashenko said the following about this topic of negotiations: “Perhaps we should somewhere consider the issue of deepening relations in this particular sphere. Very, of course, delicate and scrupulous due to the fact that Belarus is located in the epicenter of economic and political events. However, there are no questions that we cannot solve."

According to a source in the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, in 2021, the volume of oil supplies by Azerbaijan to Belarus may be at the level of 2020, or one tanker for 80-90 thousand tons per month.

According to him, the Memorandum signed on April 14 between Belneftechim and SOCAR reflects obligations on oil supplies, sales of oil products produced in the Republic of Belarus (possibly through the creation of gas stations under the SOCAR brand, access to joint export of fuel and energy complex products, interaction on the implementation of joint investment projects). The Memorandum provides for expanding the capabilities of the parties in the production and sale of oil and oil products.

SOCAR can also conduct a technical audit at Belarusian oil refineries in order to improve their efficiency. Recently SOCAR Construction completed work on the modernization of one of the cracking units at the Mozyr refinery in Belarus.

SOCAR has the closest ties with this enterprise and cooperation will continue. — 0—