Commenting on the Russian delegation’s participation in Baku Energy Week alongside the presence of Azerbaijani representatives at SPIEF, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova underscored Moscow’s interest in comprehensively strengthening contacts with Azerbaijan.
This week sees major economic summits taking place in both Russia and Azerbaijan: the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St Petersburg and Baku Energy Week in Baku. An Azerbaijani government delegation and a large group of national companies are attending SPIEF, while similar delegations from Moscow and Russian regions are taking part in the series of events in Baku. Vestnik Kavkaza asked Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova for her assessment of the two countries’ economic interaction.
The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman stressed that the authorities and businesses of Russia and Azerbaijan are engaged in constant, fruitful economic work that is mutually beneficial.
“A clear illustration of this is the latest, 24th meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation. It was held successfully on 16 April in Zangilan, where agreements were reached on implementing mutually beneficial joint projects,” she noted.
“I want to single out the contribution that work at the interregional level makes to strengthening bilateral economic ties. More than 70 constituent entities of the Russian Federation are involved in this,” Zakharova said.
“In this context, we can only welcome the upcoming holding this year in Azerbaijan of the 13th Russian-Azerbaijani Interregional Forum,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added.
Furthermore, Moscow is committed to comprehensively strengthening its strategic partnership and alliance with Baku. “We aim for the consistent development of the entire range of bilateral ties with Azerbaijan; this serves the interests of the peoples of our countries,” she explained.
“We consider it necessary to relaunch full-scale cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere in the near future, following the pause that has occurred. There is a whole series of initiatives here that have been discussed at the highest level. We are continuing dialogue with the Azerbaijani side on all issues,” Maria Zakharova concluded.
