Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan ink air link accord

The ambassador said this is the first step for the upcoming direct flight from Baku to Jeddah. His country recently concluded 15 cooperation and partnership deals with Saudi Arabia and another seven will follow very soon. 

Hacıaga Haciyev, deputy director of the Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Administration, and GACA representatives were among those present.

"There are good opportunities for cooperation between our country and Saudi Arabia in various fields, including investment banking, joint projects, agriculture, petrochemical industry, ICT, tourism, construction and industry,” the envoy said.

The deals will constitute a basis for signing new agreements in Saudi Arabia in November. He said the trade turnover between the two countries stood at $ 14.66 million as of 2014. Both counties are interested in increasing our trade turnover. 

"We already signed a deal on elimination of double taxation and protection of investments," he added.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Saudi Arabia in April 2015 can be described as the best index of relations between the two countries," he said.

Saudi Arabia is interested in investing in the development of the agrarian sector in Azerbaijan, said Saleh Al-Abdad, representative of the Saudi Fund for Development.

He said the fund is ready to finance the agricultural sector of the country through Azerbaijani banks.

The Kingdom, represented by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), has helped Azerbaijan by giving financial assistance for various projects.

In 2002, within the framework of projects for the construction of secondary schools in Baku, SFD extended a loan amounting to SR35.7 million to Azerbaijan. In 2005, the Saudi government provided also financial assistance worth $50,000 for rehabilitation.