Government | Tuesday 15 December, 2015 4:12 pm |

Today, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Mr Shahin Mustafayev, jointly chaired the 4th session of the Azeri-Saudi Joint Intergovernmental Committee alongside the Governor of the Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA), His Excellency Abdullatif Al Othman.

During the session, the committee explored strategies to deepen the economic and commercial relationship between the two countries, while noting the religious, cultural, and intellectual histories both countries already shared by.

The committee focuses on increasing bilateral exports, strengthening investment channels and removing barriers, the creation of a joint working group on oil and gas and mining, and the possibility of future Azeri-Saudi joint investments.

Speaking on the visit, Governor Othman said: “I am very pleased to welcome our friends from Azerbaijan to Saudi Arabia as our two countries continue to expand our cooperation in a number of areas, including trade and investment.

Input from the private sector, and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation has given us a roadmap for increasing our bilateral commercial activity. I believe the determination shown from both sides to implement these recommendations heralds a closer and mutually beneficial future between Azerbaijan and the Kingdom.”

Speaking alongside the Governor, Mr Mustafayev conveyed the warm greetings of the President of Azerbaijan to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman, and recognized the importance of commercial ties between the nations Muslim world.

Mr Mustafayev said “I am very pleased to co-chair this year’s joint intergovernmental committee with His Excellency the Governor. The session will build upon the work of the last meeting of the committee where we made progress on eliminating double taxation and improved the linkages for bilateral investment. Albiet starting at a low level, commercial exchanges between our countries have been on the rise, reaching almost $400 million to date invested in Azerbaijan by Saudi enterprises. We look forward to strengthening this relationship to build more bridges between the countries of the Islamic world.”