BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 26. Türkiye targets
to achieve a free trade agreement with Azerbaijan based on mutual
concessions and creating broader opportunities, the Chief Trade
Counselor of the Turkish Embassy in Azerbaijan, Gulizar Yavas, said
at an event held in Baku today on the topic “Access to the Turkish
market: export, legal, and practical aspects,” Trend reports.
She noted that, overall, the energy sector accounts for a large
part of the approximately $8 billion trade turnover between
Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
“As the Turkish side, our desire is that the existing bilateral
relations, alliances, and brotherly ties between our countries be
realistically reflected in trade and investments.
The main task of both offices is to develop cooperation in this
area, and all our responsibilities continue in this direction.
Currently, there is no free trade agreement between Türkiye and
Azerbaijan. Although discussions are ongoing, there is a
preferential trade agreement that is currently in force. Within the
framework of this agreement, the list, which initially included 30
products, was later expanded to 50 products. The main part of the
list is agricultural products. The demands of the Azerbaijani side
were also focused mainly on agricultural products. Moreover, some
industrial products were also included in the list.
Within the framework of the special agreement on Karabakh, there
is a separate list of products that can be imported by Türkiye with
unilateral concessions, tax reductions, or zero customs duties.
Since this is a special agreement, it is impossible to find it in
open sources,” she explained.
Besides, she recalled that the 12th meeting of the Joint
Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between
Azerbaijan and Türkiye was held in Baku.
“A 110-item action plan was signed at that meeting. This plan,
in addition to covering the work done in the previous period, also
defines the goals for the next year. It envisages cooperation
directions and specific measures in energy, education, trade, and
other fields.
This means that as cooperation between the two countries expands
in transport, energy, and other fields, it is expected to have a
positive impact on trade turnover because this cooperation also
covers raw material supplies, investments, and trade in services.
Trade is no longer limited to goods, but trade in goods and
services is considered together,” Yavas noted.
The embassy official emphasized the very high interest in
Azerbaijan from Türkiye.
“Since I took office, we have received 12 business delegations
in just five months. One of them was a delegation from the Istanbul
Chamber of Industry (ISO). Approximately 70 percent of Turkish
production is carried out by these industrialists. Last month, they
visited Azerbaijan with a delegation of about 150. This group
brought together Türkiye’s largest investors, industrialists,
exporters, and importers.
Many of them said that they were visiting the Azerbaijani market
for the first time. This also shows that Azerbaijan is becoming an
increasingly attractive market. As the interest of Turkish
businessmen increases, it’s inevitable that Azerbaijani
entrepreneurs will also increase their interest in cooperation with
Türkiye because these relations should be based on long-term and
sustainable cooperation, not short-term purchases and sales.
Our offices are trying to support entrepreneurs from both
countries in establishing these relations and solving existing
problems. We consider it important to create joint mechanisms for
this purpose. On December 1, this issue was also discussed at the
meeting with Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov,
and the establishment of a technical working group was proposed.
The goal is both to develop bilateral investment and trade
relations and, if necessary, to explore opportunities for joint
cooperation in third countries,” she announced.
Yavas noted that, according to observations, Azerbaijan’s
production and export potential, especially in the agricultural
sector, coincides with the areas that Türkiye protects the
most.
“In terms of industrial products, price competition with China
remains a serious problem for both Azerbaijan and Türkiye. For this
reason, it is sometimes difficult to obtain any price advantage in
mutual trade. Türkiye has a Customs Union agreement with the
European Union, and within this framework, customs duties on many
products for 27 countries have been zeroed. This means that
products entering the Turkish market from Azerbaijan have to
compete with products from those countries under zero duties. At
the same time, Türkiye also has numerous free trade agreements with
Egypt, Morocco, and other countries.
Our goal is to achieve a free trade agreement with Azerbaijan
based on mutual concessions and creating broader opportunities.
Such accords provide a more expansive array of advantages
compared to preferential trade pacts. However, there are a number
of issues that sectors and government agencies of both countries
must agree on for this.
The initial discussions began in 2024 and moved to the technical
phase in 2025. If the main negotiations begin in 2026, it will be
possible to achieve significant progress in this long-term process.
There are serious concessions unilaterally offered by Türkiye,
especially regarding the reconstructed regions, including Karabakh.
Significant advantages have been created for the export of products
produced in Karabakh to the Turkish market,” she concluded.
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