The first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Belarus Working Group on agriculture was held

The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus held the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Belarus Working Group in the field of agriculture and food security. On October 4, the online meeting was attended by Azerbaijan co-chair of the Working Group, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Elchin Zeynalov, Belarus co-chair of the Working Group, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food of Belarus Igor Brylo, and representatives of various government agencies of the two countries.

The event participants were informed in detail about the state support to agriculture in Azerbaijan, reforms in the agricultural sector, the application of the Electronic Agricultural Information System, the electronicization of agricultural services. It was noted that as a result of the high attention paid by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to the non-oil sector in recent years, the agricultural sector has entered a new stage of development and new strategic development goals have been identified. The sides exchanged views on the prospects of Azerbaijan's agricultural sector, the government's priorities in the agricultural sector, as well as modernization in this area, export development and financial support for agriculture.

Azerbaijan and Belarus also discussed the current situation in agriculture, as well as the impact of the global pandemic on the sector. It was noted that agriculture is the least affected sector of the country's economy as a result of preventive measures taken by the government in Azerbaijan.

Cooperation between the two countries in the field of agriculture was a special topic of discussion at the meeting of the Working Group. It was noted that relations between Belarus and Azerbaijan are developing in all areas of the economy, including agriculture.

The event touched upon the implementation of technology transfer and joint pilot projects between Azerbaijan and Belarus in the agricultural sector, increasing the import-export turnover of agricultural products, attracting investments in the agricultural sector, cooperation in crop production, seed production, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine, agricultural education and food security. They also discussed Belarus' participation in the process of reconstruction and development of agriculture in the liberated territories. It was noted that there is a great potential for expanding relations between the two countries in the field of agriculture.

Both sides expressed interest in cooperation and exchanged views on prospects for future cooperation. A protocol of the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Belarus Working Group was signed between the Azerbaijani and Belarusian Ministries of Agriculture to consider new opportunities for cooperation in the field of agriculture and expand ties.