EU Envoy: Total of 400 European companies operate in Azerbaijan

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Currently, a total of 400 European companies are operating in Azerbaijan, EU Ambassador Peter Michalko said at a press conference, Azernews reports.

He noted that EU companies contribute to the creation of new jobs in Azerbaijan.

"The European companies stimulate the creation of new jobs. In Azerbaijan, up to 2,000 new jobs were created with the support of companies from the EU," he said,

Education cooperation

"The EU aims to deepen cooperation with Azerbaijan in the education sector," he said.

Noting that the EU and Azerbaijan made a progress in education cooperation this year, he noted that the EU aims to further strengthen its partnership with Azerbaijan in this sector, including science and research.

He added that about 25 Azerbaijani universities are involved in the Erasmus+ program.

"More and more students from the EU come to Azerbaijan to study under the program. From 2014 through 2020, more than 1,200 students from the EU studied at Azerbaijani universities," he said.

EU supports Azerbaijan in demining process

Moreover, the ambassador underlined that the EU supports Azerbaijan in the processes of demining of liberated territories and in Karabakh's restoration.

"The EU will continue to support Azerbaijan's mine clearance efforts, and in the future, we intend to make more efforts in this direction," he said.

He emphasized that the EU is one of the most active supporters of the demining process in Azerbaijan.

"De-mining is an important factor for the restoration of Azerbaijan's Karabakh and the establishment of security in the region. We’ll continue to help Azerbaijan in the demining, and in the future, we intend to make more efforts in this direction," he said.

In this regard, Peter Michalko expressed his condolences for the death of an Azerbaijani soldier as a result of a mine explosion in Kalbajar on December 14.

EU contributes to the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan & Armenia

The EU actively contributes to the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, he said.

"We want our actions to bring positive results in establishing long-term peace in the region," he said.

The EU and Azerbaijan enjoy cooperation in different sectors of the economy. The EU invested over $21.5 billion in Azerbaijan’s economy from 2012 to 2021. Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with the EU amounted to $9.3 billion last year, which is 38 percent of the country’s foreign trade. The Delegation of the European Commission to Azerbaijan was opened in Baku in February 2008.

Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on December 31, 2020.