Ramin Guluzade spoke at event dedicated to Afghanistan's Independence Day

An event dedicated to the national holiday of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan – Independence Day was held in Baku today.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ramin Guluzade congratulated the Afghan people on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and wished them progress, welfare, peace and prosperity.

Speaking about the relations between the two countries, based on mutually beneficial partnership and friendship, Ramin Guluzade said that Afghanistan always supported Azerbaijan’s right position on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in international and regional organizations and highly appreciated Afghanistan’s support to our territorial integrity.

“I would like to note that in recent years, economic relations between our countries have been developing steadily. Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Afghanistan in January-May of 2019 amounted to $ 47.8 million US dollars. This means a 15.02% increase in trade turnover between the two countries as compared to the corresponding period of 2018,” – said the Minister.

In his speech, Ramin Guluzade said high-level mutual visits and signed documents played an important role in the rapid development of friendly and partnership relations, economic, cultural and political ties.

The Minister added that there is great potential for the development of cooperation between the two countries in the fields of information and communication technologies, transport, industrial development and agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining and other areas.

In his speech, Ramin Guluzade also touched upon the issues of cooperation between the two countries in the field of transport: “Important steps are being taken to develop transport relations. Azerbaijani Silk Way Airlines carries out four times weekly flights from Baku to Kabul. I would like to emphasize the importance of the Lapis-Lazuli transport route for both countries, of which Azerbaijan and Afghanistan are also participants. The transportation of cargo and passengers on this route to Europe and back via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line is of great importance.”

The Minister also said that efforts were made to develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of information and communication technologies and expressed hope that important projects would be implemented in the future.

At the end of his speech, Ramin Guluzade expressed confidence in the further development and expansion of relations between our countries.