Russia and Azerbaijan Reach Higher Level of Strategic Partnership - Russian Ambassador Bocharnikov

Baku / 23.12.18 / Turan: The strategic partnership between Baku and Moscow is reaching a higher level, said Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Russia to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov in Baku at a press conference on December 23.

There are about 720 joint Russian-Azerbaijani enterprises in the sphere of trade, services, agriculture and industry in Azerbaijan. Their activity reflects the high level of financial investments in Azerbaijan from Russia, which has reached $ 4.2 billion. In particular, the Russian Industrial Bank has invested in the creation of the Sumgayit polypropylene production company of SOCAR.

It is important that Azerbaijan and Russia trade not raw materials, but processed products. Russia will encourage the work of joint ventures producing non-commodity goods, Bocharnikov said.

He sees great prospects in setting up facilities in Azerbaijan for assembling Russian engineering products for agriculture and oil refining.

In the area of ​​economic cooperation between the two countries, Bocharnikov highly appreciated the work of the intergovernmental economic commissions, whose decisions are binding.

Next year, the successful development of interregional cooperation will continue. Trading houses of the two countries are being created in Azerbaijan and Russia, and they are being opened in the regions. "Azerbaijan has direct ties with 80 regions of the Russian Federation. This is a lot," said Bocharnikov.

In 2019, the two countries will develop cooperation in the military-technical sphere. Azerbaijani servicemen study at Russian military schools, chiefs of general staffs of the Russian and Azerbaijani armies meet several times a year, representatives of the Azerbaijani army take an active part in military competitions in Russia. Next year, part of such competitions related to the naval sphere may be held in Azerbaijan, the ambassador said.

Within the framework of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea signed in Astana by the Caspian states, Azerbaijan and Russia will work on preserving the reservoir"s bioresources, ensuring safe navigation, etc. "Russia and Azerbaijan pondered over the creation of the Alat-Astrakhan sea shipping line."

Great success and great potential for the development of bilateral relations exist in the humanitarian sphere. We are working on the issue of the format of the future branch of the Moscow Institute of International Relations in Azerbaijan, and we hope this issue will be resolved in 2019, the ambassador said. Two other Russian universities have applied for opening branches in Azerbaijan, and negotiations will be held on this. Russia will continue to allocate quotas for training Azerbaijanis in Russian universities. This year, 205 Azerbaijanis studied in this program in the Russian Federation, and in general over 11,000 young citizens of Azerbaijan receive higher education in Russia.

Referring to the increase in the number of Russian tourists in Azerbaijan, Ambassador Bocharnikov recalled the developing project of Caspian tourism from Astrakhan to Baku.

The experience of holding the Days of Culture of the Russian Federation in Azerbaijan and the Days of Culture of Azerbaijan in the Russian Federation has been successful, this practice will continue and should be put on a regular basis, the ambassador said.

He spoke with Azerbaijani filmmakers, who spoke about the benefits of cooperation with Russia. Ambassador Bocharnikov considers useful the training of Azerbaijanis in Russian universities, which prepare cinematographers.

Regarding the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Bocharnikov expressed "cautious optimism" based on successful meetings between Azerbaijan and Armenia at the highest level and between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries. Russia will promote such contacts as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group. A regular meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia is scheduled for January, the Russian ambassador said at a press conference in Baku. -0-