Azerbaijan, Turkey boost trade turnover in Jan-Feb

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and Turkey have increased trade turnover by $392.3 million during the period of January-February 2022, the State Customs Committee has reported.

In the first two months of the year, the bilateral trade turnover amounted to $933.4 million. It should be noted that the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $541.1 million during the corresponding period of 2021.

Of the total turnover, exports amounted to $621.1 million while imports to $312.2 million.

Azerbaijan and Turkey collaborate in a variety of economic fields and have completed major energy and infrastructure projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, and TANAP.

Turkey imports Azerbaijani natural gas through the South Caucasus Gas Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum) and TANAP.  Azerbaijan supplies gas to Turkey only from the Shah Deniz field. The supplies have been made since July 2007.

The construction of the Igdir-Nakhchivan natural gas pipeline is a major post-war project. The pipeline will run from Turkey’s eastern Igdir region to Nakhchivan through Azerbaijan’s newly-liberated territories, thus ensuring the exclave’s energy security. 

In 2021, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed the Shusha Declaration on Allied Relations, which focuses on defence cooperation, promoting regional stability and prosperity, and establishing new transportation routes.

The two countries set up a goal to bring the mutual trade turnover to $15 billion in 2023. As of 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $4.6 billion.

It should be noted that so far, Turkey is Azerbaijan’s second-largest investor followed by the UK.

Additionally, Turkey was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.