BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 6. Azerbaijan and the
UK intend to take their bilateral relations to a new level within
the framework of a strategic partnership, the UK Minister of State
in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, Anas
Sarwar, told reporters on the sidelines of the 8th meeting of the
Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the
government of Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, Trend's correspondent reports.


“We truly have strong and long-standing relations. What the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of
Azerbaijan are firmly committed to achieving is the further
deepening of relations between the peoples of our countries. This
strategic partnership will take our relations to a new level,” he
said.


According to A. Sarwar, cooperation between the two countries
will go beyond traditional collaboration in the energy sector to
encompass education, digital innovation, technology,
infrastructure, support for the Middle Corridor, and the defense
industry.


He also expressed the UK’s interest in expanding mutual
investments.







“I want to see here in Azerbaijan not only shared ambitions, but
also British companies operating here and investments that will be
supported by British export financing. However, I also want to see
more investment from Azerbaijan into the UK and more Azerbaijani
companies operating in the UK,” A. Sarwar noted.


The 8th meeting of the Joint Commission on Trade and Economic
Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan
and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland was held in Baku, co-chaired by Azerbaijan’s
Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov and Lord Anas Sarwar, UK
Minister of State for Trade at the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills.


During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the current
state and prospects for the development of Azerbaijan-UK relations
and discussed opportunities to expand cooperation in the areas of
political dialogue, economy and trade, energy, transport and
digital infrastructure, agriculture, humanitarian affairs, and
healthcare. It was emphasized that the United Kingdom has been one
of Azerbaijan’s key economic partners for more than three decades.
It was noted that, with investments exceeding $39 billion, the
United Kingdom is the largest foreign investor in Azerbaijan. Last
year, bilateral trade turnover increased by 67 percent. In the
first half of the current year, trade turnover increased 5.5-fold,
reaching $3.6 billion, while Azerbaijan’s exports to the United
Kingdom increased 24-fold.