OREANDA-NEWS. June 17, 2008. The first Turkmen-Azerbaijani economic forum is opened in Ashkhabad. An Azerbaijani business delegation arrived to the Turkmen capital to participate in the forum. The business meeting is arranged under the Agreement on Co-operation between the chambers of commerce and industry of the two neighbouring countries aimed at enhancing the fruitful contacts to intensify the intergovernmental dialogue at the current stage. As is known the Turkmen leader’s recent visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan and the top level agreements offered a powerful incentive to develop the bilateral relations in trade and economic sphere in particular.

The aim of the business forum – to present the priorities of Turkmenistan’s economic development to the Azerbaijani partners and to exchange views on a broad range of the issues of mutual interest. During the two-day visit to the Turkmen capital the Azerbaijani delegation will hold the talks at the national ministries and departments.

The Ashkhabad meeting brought together about 100 specialists and experts of the government agencies and businessmen from the two countries. The package of the Azerbaijani partners’ offers includes delivery of oil and gas and petrochemical equipment, construction materials, agricultural machines, food, textile and printing products. Discussing the prospects of co-operation the Azerbaijani partners presented their expertise in the sphere of investments, banking and freight services, recreation and tourism industries. The guests represented two dozens of the large companies, enterprises and institutions including Baki Fahlasi, Azneftemash, AKKORD, ADO-G, ARAZ PLAST, ATA-Holding, Caspian Service, Abad MMC, Matanat A, AIC, AZPROMO, STI Travel, CIBC, GTZ, the Industrial Bank of Azerbaijan and others.

The Turkmen partners offered a range of the products and services, which could increase considerably the trade turnover, promote enhancing and expanding the business contacts between the two countries. Establishing co-operation in the private sector was mentioned among the very promising fields of collaboration in this context. The Union of Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan presented the Turkmen private producers’ potential at the forum.

The reports on the national legal bases regulating the sphere of investments, tax systems and the procedures of establishing the trade and economic relations, conducting the banking and exchange transactions currently in force in the two countries.

Noting the profound potential of Turkmen-Azerbaijani partnership, in the history of which a new page had been opened, the forum participants called for fostering the effective contacts in a wide spectrum of fields.

The businessmen of the two countries will have the next meeting in the framework of the Oil and Gas Industry of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, which will take place in Baku this September.