ANKARA: Ankara aims at simplifying customs procedures with Azerbaijan and creating a “green corridor”, similar to the one existing between Russia and Turkey, said Turkey’s Customs and Trade Minister Bulent Tufenkci in an exclusive interview with Trend. “Turkey’s Ministry of Customs and Trade wants to simplify and speed up customs procedures to ensure the access of Turkish goods to new markets in order to strengthen the country’s competitiveness,” Tufenkci said.
“Turkey joined the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, which expands the opportunities for our businessmen,” he said. The minister said that mutual trade between Turkey and Azerbaijan has been growing steadily over 15 years. Turkey ranks the second in Azerbaijani imports and the 14th – in the exports. “Considering our brotherly relations and economic potential of the two countries, we can say that the current level of trade turnover doesn’t reflect the real potential of our economic ties,” added Tufenkci. The minister said that there are plans to bring the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey to $15 billion in the coming years. Azerbaijan mainly imports various equipment, electrical appliances, household items, cars from Turkey, he noted adding that Turkey, for its part, imports oil and oil products, as well as gas from Azerbaijan.
Tufenkci also mentioned that in recent years, Azerbaijan has been focusing on diversification of its economy, going towards the non-oil sphere. “We also want to see such investments of Azerbaijan in Turkey,” noted the minister adding that the work between the two countries’ businessmen should be boosted. He went on to say that Azerbaijan is the leader for the volume of investments in the Turkish economy among the countries of Central Asia and Caucasus. “Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR is the main investor. Turkey and Azerbaijan are the biggest investors of the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project,” added Tufenkci. “Azerbaijan also has major investments in such sectors as the hotel business, construction of hospitals and medical sphere in Turkey.”
