(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Ayya Lmahamad
Azerbaijan's investment in Switzerland amounted to $2.6 billion
as of October 26, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Switzerland Fuad
Iskandarov said during a press conference in Geneva, Azernews
reports per Trend.
Noting that it is gold that is mainly exported, he added that
the oil supplies have also recently begun. In this regard, he noted
that Europe is Azerbaijan's main direction of energy exports.
'The country is one of the main gas suppliers to Europe, and
plans to double supplies over the next five years,' he said.
Traffic through Middle Corridor
The ambassador also stated that the volume of traffic through
the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also called Middle
Corridor, increased by 77 percent in January-September 2022.
'The issue of increasing the capacity of this corridor is on the
agenda and there are already plans for this together with
partners,' he said.
Cooperation with regional partners
Fuad Iskandarov underlined that Azerbaijan is a country that
established close cooperation with its regional partners. In this
regard, he stressed that Azerbaijan also continues the process of a
peaceful settlement with Armenia.
'It was here, in Switzerland, that the first direct meeting of
the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia took place, without
any mediation from outside. We are proud of this and hope that such
positive steps will continue,' he said.
Moreover, the ambassador said that the trilateral format of
Azerbaijan-Georgia-Armenia cooperation is very important for the
development of the region.
'Transport cooperation between Azerbaijan and Georgia is very
well developed and the volume of transit traffic through the region
is increasing. At the moment, Azerbaijan and Georgia are working on
developing their transport potential, why shouldn't Armenia join? I
think it will be beneficial for the entire region,' he said.
Attacks on embassy building
Fuad Iskandarov added that the embassy is closely cooperating
with the country's law-enforcement bodies to prevent attacks on the
embassy building.
'Amid the number of attacks on Azerbaijani embassies all over
the world, this issue remains relevant,' he said.
He recalled that during his tenure in Brussels, Azerbaijan's
newly-opened embassy building in Belgium came under attack.
'Six employees were injured, and the damage to the building
amounted to €49,000. Therefore, Azerbaijani Embassy in Switzerland
began to actively work with the local law-enforcement bodies to
prevent similar cases,' he said.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established
on January 21, 1992.
Azerbaijan and Switzerland cooperate in various economic
sectors. There is mutually beneficial cooperation between Baku and
Bern in the non-oil sector. In addition, Baku will host a meeting
of the Commission on Trade and Economic relations between
Switzerland and Azerbaijan in 2022.
The trade turnover between the two nations amounted to $457.2m
in 2021, with exports accounting for $272.5m and imports for
$184.7m.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews' staff journalist, follow her on
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