GCC, Azerbaijan eye promising partnerships in strategic sectors, says Qatari Official

The economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Azerbaijan have promising prospects for partnership and mutual investment in strategic projects related to energy, mining, the petrochemical industry, tourism, SMEs, food and agriculture, and food security.

Mohammed bin Hassan Al Malki, advisor to Qatar's Minister of Commerce and Industry, made this statement at the Second Economic Forum of Azerbaijan - GCC member countries held in Baku with the support of the Ministry of Economy and the organization of AZPROMO, Azernews reports.

He noted that the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the GCC countries is developing: "This partnership is based on mutual trust and shared interests. The high level of relations and beneficial cooperation between the parties is reflected in the volume of trade exchange. Trade exchange has more than doubled in recent years. Specifically, trade relations, which were approximately 612 million US dollars in 2015, increased by 194% to 1.8 billion US dollars in 2023. We can reach new levels in the development of these relations by leveraging the existing opportunities between the GCC states and Azerbaijan."

The Qatari official highlighted that efforts are being made to expand cooperation in food safety, agriculture, renewable energy, industry, logistics, transport, and other important areas: "This will enable the private sectors of the GCC and Azerbaijan to actively create successful and diverse investment partnerships. This will support our mutual efforts to achieve the goals of sustainable development and promote trade between our countries."