Azerbaijan is a very important part of the puzzle, connecting Europe and Asia, being a key part of the trade route to Central Asia and China, Kestutis Jankauskas, head of the EU delegation to Azerbaijan, told Trend.
"Europe has been consistently supporting all the ways, contributing to the connectivity between the countries in several directions, including sea, railways, air connection, as well as financial connectivity and IT connectivity. We should develop all these terms of cooperation with Azerbaijan and other countries of the Silk Road in order to work as one structure," said Jankauskas.
He stressed that EU and Azerbaijan already have significant achievements in increasing trade and energy links, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Kars.
"What we need now is to fill these routes with cargoes, since there are new possibilities in their fast and cheap transportation. We support Azerbaijan as a significant transport hub. And I would also like to mention the importance of people-to-people connectivity, increasing each year between Europe and Azerbaijan," Jankauskas said.
According to Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee, trade turnover with the EU member countries amounted to $9.4 billion in 2017, 52.35 percent more than in 2016.
Azerbaijan exported goods worth $7.45 billion to the EU countries in 2017.
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