The 3rd meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian Working Group was held in the field of agriculture

On February 12, the 3^rd meeting of the Azerbaijani-Russian Working Group was held in the field of agriculture. Co-chair of the Working Group on the Azerbaijani side, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Elchin Zeynalov, Co-chair of the Working Group on the Russian side, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Sergey Levin, representatives of various state bodies of both countries were attended at the online meeting.

The participants of the meeting were informed about the state support to agriculture in Azerbaijan, reforms carried out in the agricultural sector, the application of the E-Agriculture Information System (EAIS), the electronization of agricultural services at the event. It was noted that as a result of the high attention paid to the non-oil sector in recent years by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the agricultural sector has entered a new stage of development and new strategic development goals have been set in this direction. The sides exchanged views on the prospects of the agricultural sector of Azerbaijan, the government’s priorities in the agricultural sector, as well as modernization in this field, export development and financial support for agriculture were discussed at the online meeting.

Discussions were also held between Azerbaijan and Russia on the current state of agriculture, as well as the impact of the global pandemic to this sector. As a result of the preventive measures taken by the government in Azerbaijan, agriculture is the least damaged sector in the country's economy. It was noted that as a result of the measures taken, the total agricultural products in Azerbaijan increased by 2 per cent in 2020.

At the Working Group’s meeting, the cooperation in the field of agriculture was the subject of a special discussion between two countries. It was noted that relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan in the field of agriculture, as well as in all spheres of economy are being developed.

The issues of increasing import-export turnover of agricultural products between Azerbaijan and Russia, attracting investments in the agricultural sector in our country, exchange of experience in conducting research in the field of registration and testing of plant varieties, cooperation in the field of veterinary and phytosanitary inspection were touched upon at the event. It was stressed that there is great potential for expanding the relations between the two countries in the field of agriculture.

Both sides expressed their interest in cooperation and exchanged views on prospects for future cooperation. Within the framework of the meeting, mutual agreement was reached on the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministries of Agriculture of Azerbaijan and Russia in order to review new cooperation opportunities in the field of agriculture and expand relations.