Baku, March 20, Anar Rzayev, AZERTAC

In an exclusive interview with AZERTAC, President of the Republic of Moldova Igor Dodon has highlighted the current state and prospects of relations between Moldova and Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan and Moldova enjoy traditional friendly relations. Last year we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. We have signed 53 agreements covering all spheres. It is manifestation of a good level of our relationship,” said President Igor Dodon.

The Moldovan President described the relations as “good” and hailed the dynamics in the bilateral trade. “The bilateral trade has seen a 30 per cent growth in the past two years.” “Moldova would be interesting for Azerbaijani investors as we have free trade agreements with the European Union. We also maintain free trade with the CIS countries. Moldova could be a platform in terms of getting access to the European market and other directions.”

On economic relations between the two countries, the President said Moldova could suggest Azerbaijan cooperation in the agricultural and industrial complex: “We are aware of the fact that agriculture has been developing in Azerbaijan across the last years. We can carry out experience exchange in this field.”

President Igor Dodon highlighted the activity of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation: “We are also aware of the benevolent projects carried out on the initiative of First Vice-President, president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva. We started a social project in Gagauziya financed by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. A groundbreaking ceremony was held a couple of days ago. We hope that the project will be finalized by the end of this year.”

The President of Moldova spoke of the meeting of the Azerbaijani-Moldovan intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, and stressed the importance of holding another gathering in May-June.

President Igor Dodon hailed the large-scale projects carried out on Azerbaijan`s initiative, saying his country is interested in energy projects. “We import almost 100 per cent of gas and electricity. We would have some difficulties in delivering, but I hope the relevant scheme would be possible.” “Southern Gas Corridor is an interesting prospective, a long-lasting beneficial project. Unfortunately, the project passes a bit far from Moldova. The project is an important not only to Azerbaijan, but to the entire region.”

He praised the inauguration of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, saying infrastructure projects implemented on Azerbaijan`s initiative are a strong stimulus for trade between the two countries. “In our conversation with President Ilham Aliyev we noted that these projects create an opportunity for expansion of economy. We hope Moldova will also benefit from these projects.”

The President of Moldova also pointed out active cooperation within the CIS, stressing the importance of political stability for each society: “We have met with President Ilham Aliyev a year ago. Despite very short period, we built very friendly, warm relations. We constructively discussed bilateral cooperation.”