Mikhail Mishustin holds talks with Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov.
Russian-Azerbaijani talks
Mikhail Mishustin with Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Hidayat oglu Asadov
Russian-Azerbaijani talks
Russian-Azerbaijani talks
Russian-Azerbaijani talks
Excerpt from the transcript:
Ali Asadov: Mr Mishustin, distinguished members of the Russian delegation, we are delighted to welcome you to Azerbaijan.
Mr Mishustin, we have warm memories of your state visit to Azerbaijan in March and our meetings in Belarus as part of the CIS and the EAEU Council of Heads of Government.
We place great importance on your visit to Azerbaijan and thank you for participating in the COP29 climate summit. Russia possesses extensive experience and potential in combatting climate change, and we believe that your country’s participation in this summit will contribute to the joint efforts to advance the climate agenda.
It is good to see you in Azerbaijan with such a representative delegation which, we believe, corroborates the fact that Russia attaches great importance to bilateral relations. In turn, Azerbaijan is likewise focused on strengthening and expanding neighbourly relations, mutually beneficial cooperation and strategic partnership with the Russian Federation.
Your visit also offers us an excellent opportunity to align our agendas on matters of mutual interest and to discuss the status of implementation of the agreements reached by our respective heads of state and the instructions that they issued for us to implement.
Thanks to the combined efforts by President Ilham Aliyev and Vladimir Putin, our cooperation is making steady progress across all areas. The state visit by President Putin to Azerbaijan in August gave a powerful boost to bilateral ties.
The high-level dialogue continued in Moscow and Kazan in October, with President Aliyev participating in the meetings of the CIS Heads of Government Council and the BRICS summit.
Close contacts make it possible for the presidents to oversee the status of implementation of their instructions and outline new areas of cooperation. In turn, we are ready to continue close cooperation at the government level in order to carry out our respective presidents’ instructions.
Russia is one of Azerbaijan’s major trading partners. Trade and economic relations between our countries are expanding. The growth dynamics of mutual trade this year suggests that we may set a new record this year.
Our numbers show that mutual trade reached $3.5 billion for the first nine months.
The transport and transit sector has traditionally been a key area of cooperation. The overall volume of bilateral cargo transport is steadily growing. It grew by over 5 percent, or nearly 11 million tonnes, in the first 10 months of this year. Last year’s numbers stand at 12.7 million tonnes.
The International North-South Transport Corridor is our top priority. We are focusing on expanding the infrastructure, including that of the North-South Corridor. The volume of cargo hauled across this corridor is steadily growing, with an over 10-percent increase in the first 10 months of 2024.
Russian companies are involved in upgrading the rolling stock of Azerbaijan’s railways and the Baku metro. Mr Mishustin, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for being personally involved in this. You responded to our request and kept an eye on metro car supplies to Baku personally. I called you earlier to thank you for that, and I would now like to thank you once again in person. Everything was done on time, and these cars were put in operation during COP29. We will continue our cooperation in the field of metro.
I would also like to note the high level of industrial cooperation. Joint projects for the production and assembly of passenger vehicles, lorries, and buses, as well as the manufacturing of insulation products and pharmaceuticals, are being successfully implemented in Azerbaijan.
Several more mutually beneficial initiatives are under consideration. Azerbaijan is home to oil and gas production, while Russia is a leader in numerous energy sector areas.
Considering this, I would like to highlight our cooperation in the oil and gas sector, where our interaction is making strides across a number of areas. Industry leaders such as Gazprom, Transneft, Lukoil, and Rosneft, with which we have traditional and productive cooperation, operate in Azerbaijan.
Cooperation in the agricultural sector is making strides as well. Russia is our major partner in agriculture, which includes both exporting our produce and importing produce from Russia.
As of the end of 2023, Azerbaijani agricultural exports grew by over 9 percent. This year, the exports are up by over 12 percent. In turn, Russia remains a reliable partner for us. We import at least 1 million tonnes of wheat from the Russian Federation every year. We have imported almost 900 million tonnes during the first 10 months of this year, and are looking to import even more.
We import significant amounts of fertiliser from Russia, 120,000 tonnes last year. This year, we have imported 107,000 tonnes, and will import even more before the year ends.
Climate is our priority. During President Putin’s state visit to Azerbaijan, our respective presidents emphasised the Caspian Sea problems.
Bilateral working groups at the level of deputy ministers have been formed in line with our respective presidents’ instructions.
This agenda matters a lot. The Caspian Sea is not just about Russia and Azerbaijan. There are five Caspian littoral countries, and I believe the rest of the Caspian countries may join us.
The commission must develop initiatives to prevent further drying up of the sea, which is a vital matter for Azerbaijan. I hope, it is an urgent matter for Russia as well, since President Putin mentioned it.
The humanitarian sphere is a key vector of the bilateral relations.
Azerbaijan has great respect for the Russian language and culture. Thank you for including the people from the field of culture and education — two ministers — in your delegation. This show of respect for the Russian culture was highlighted by President Aliyev and President Putin. Mr Mishustin, you also mentioned this during your state visit to Azerbaijan.
Our agenda includes expanding cooperation in education. We welcome broader relations in cultural, scientific, and youth fields which are also crucial bilateral cooperation areas.
Traditionally, cooperation in tourism is high. Russia leads in the number of inbound tourists coming to Azerbaijan. For the first 10 months of 2023 and the first 10 months of 2024, we saw a 20-percent growth in the number of visits by Russian tourists, which brought their total number to 630,000.
Region-to-region cooperation stands high on the agenda of bilateral relations. High-level mutual visits between the regions of Azerbaijan and the regions of Russia take place regularly. We have signed agreements with 80 Russian regions.
We maintain productive cooperation in other areas as well. The potential is great as well, and tapping it will benefit the people of Russia and Azerbaijan. Mr Mishustin, I hope we will discuss every item on our agenda and identify new ones today.
Mr Mishustin, once again, we welcome you and the esteemed members of your delegation, and you now have the floor.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you. Mr Asadov.
Friends,
I would like to say that I am delighted to meet with you again in hospitable Baku. I would also like to thank you, Mr Asadov, and all our Azerbaijani colleagues for the traditionally warm and cordial welcome given to our delegation. I would also like to take this opportunity to convey to you the kindest greetings from President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
Baku is hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference. I must note the excellent organisation of this complex event, which includes tens of world leaders as well as more than 70,000 scientists, experts, researchers and journalists.
It should be noted that, for the first time since its inception, this conference is being held in the South Caucasus, a region with a unique nature and unique climatic features.
Azerbaijan is becoming a rallying centre for addressing global climate change. This was discussed in detail at the conference today. Importantly, a well-balanced agenda has been prepared at the initiative of the Azerbaijani chairmanship, which was duly noted by our colleagues. The Azerbaijani side is also proposing a lot of innovations, and I am confident that hosting the conference will enhance Azerbaijan’s standing in the region and in the international arena.
I would like to add that relations between Russia and Azerbaijan have always evolved in the spirit of neighbourly partnership and cooperation,relying on the centuries-old friendship and mutual respect.
Our governments are consistently focusing on building up trade and joint economic initiatives. Mutual trade is on the rise, as you rightly noted. In money terms, it is currently about 290 billion roubles, or more than 5 billion Azerbaijani manats. We will see how much more it will grow by yearend.
In fact, a large portion of cross-border transactions is executed in national currencies.
We are expanding hands-on cooperation in energy, industry, agriculture and pharmaceuticals. Transport infrastructure development is another important area for our joint efforts. Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Savelyev is here today;as you know, he is responsible for these projects, including the western route of the North-South international transport corridor, which passes through the territory of Azerbaijan. It is expected to increase cargo traffic and expand the geography of commodity flows, which will reach the growing markets in the Global South (the Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia) through the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
You also spoke in detail about industrial cooperation. Indeed, we are implementing ambitious projects – in particular, in transport engineering, which we talked about. Serial production of Kamaz, Uaz, and Lada vehicles has been launched here.
As you said, Russia supplies railcars for the Baku metro system. Using electric transport reduces the load on the city roads and meets the highest requirements of climate regulation.
We have held the Days of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan and are now preparing for the celebration of the 80thanniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
You mentioned Azerbaijan’s attitude to the Russian language and schools. We can only welcome your interest. Minister [of Education] Sergei Kravtsov is also here. And we will certainly continue to expand our cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
Dear Mr Asadov, we have a packed agenda. I am ready to discuss all the current aspects of cooperation between our countries with you.
