Mikhail Mishustin’s meeting with Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 2nd Caspian Economic Forum.

Mikhail Mishustin and Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Hidayat oghlu Asadov

Mikhail Mishustin: Mr Asadov, I am
pleased to welcome you in Moscow, in Russia. And I
am glad to meet again at the 2nd Caspian Economic Forum.

We met only recently, in late August in Kyrgyzstan on
the sidelines of a Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting, where the head
of the Azerbaijani government participated for the first time as a guest of
honour.

Please convey the warmest greetings and best wishes to
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev from President of Russia Vladimir Putin
and me personally.

We truly hold dear our friendly relations with Azerbaijan. Our
peoples are united by centuries-old history and common cultural values.

On 22 February in Moscow,
the presidents of Russia and
Azerbaijan
signed a declaration on allied cooperation, which brought our cooperation to an
even higher level.

In the conditions of illegitimate economic sanctions that
unfriendly states have imposed on Russia, the government is taking
prompt decisions aimed at further developing Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation.
These measures are already yielding positive results, first of all, in trade
and economic cooperation.

Russian investment in Azerbaijan
amounts to $4.5 billion, and Azerbaijani investment in Russia comes to
about $1.5 billion.

From January to August, bilateral trade grew by 11.5
percent and exceeded $2.2 billion.

Of course, it is necessary to increase these figures by
launching promising new projects, and creating industrial and production chains
in energy, transport and agricultural production.

The Intergovernmental Commission for Economic
Cooperation is actively addressing these tasks. Alexei Overchuk is leading it
on behalf of Russia.

Leading Russian energy, transport, manufacturing and
pharmaceutical companies are operating in Azerbaijan. The capacity for
developing cooperation in the digital economy, renewable energy and innovative
technology is enormous.

In April, a large business mission representing
Russian energy companies visited Azerbaijan. A delegation from the
agro-industrial complex will go there in the autumn. We will continue the
practice of sending Russian business missions to establish direct dialogue with
Azerbaijani entrepreneurs and to conclude more mutually beneficial agreements.

We believe unblocking economic and transport ties and
creating new infrastructure routes in the South Caucasus, in accordance with
what the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia had to say, is of key
importance. Moving these important initiatives forward will support the
sustainable development of the South Caucasus.

The tripartite working group chaired by our deputy
prime ministers scrutinise these issues on an ongoing basis.

Mr Asadov, I am here to discuss with you all bilateral
priorities. Please, go ahead.

Ali Asadov: Mr Mishustin,

Thank you for the kind words about my country. It will
be my pleasure to convey greetings from the President of Russia and you to the
President of Azerbaijan, Mr Aliyev.

I fully agree with what you said. As we follow the
course outlined by our presidents, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev, we, the
executive authorities of our states represented by the governments, are trying
to take action on all the instructions and tasks that have been set before us.

I might repeat some things that you, Mr Mishustin,
have already mentioned in your remarks, but I would like to drill down on
several issues.

The Russian
Federation has always been and remains our
important political and economic partner, and we, led by our President, have
invariably seen our work with you as a priority and will continue to do so
going forward. Russia
is our third-largest trade partner, export and import alike. But this has
nothing to do with the hierarchy of relations. Just for your information, Italy comes first just because we sell oil to Italy.

You are our number one partner in all other aspects of
the economy, including manufacturing and joint projects that are carried out
with the help and engagement of Russian investment in Azerbaijan. You
listed some, and we discussed them during our restricted-format meeting.

Notably, we have opened a site in the newly liberated
territories to build an assembly joint venture with KamAZ truck manufacturer.

Mr Mishustin, the new realities that we are talking
about, global realities, are creating huge opportunities in the transport
sector which is our top priority as well.

A declaration was signed in Azerbaijan on 9 September. Mr Novak
took part in the signing. My deputy, the Azerbaijani co-chair of the
intergovernmental commission, Shahin Mustafayev, and his Iranian colleague, the
Minister of Roads, were in attendance. We made a decision and signed on the
dotted line. The goal is to reach 15 million tonnes by 2030. The working
commission from the Russian side and our commission are now available. Mr
Mishustin, following this meeting there will be another meeting with our
Iranian colleague, and we will ask them (I hope you will join us) to make
theirs available, too, so that we can step up our efforts.