Davudov (right), pictured with Bernama CEO Roslan, urged Malaysian firms to set up operations in Azerbaijan to enter other key markets in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. – BERNAMApic
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian businessmen and companies have been encouraged to take advantage of Azerbaijan's strategic location to enter markets in its Central Asian and Eastern European neighbours.
Irfan Davudov, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Malaysia, said his nation's cutting-edge transport and communications infrastructure could facilitate Malaysian companies' trade with Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Georgia and Iran, for example.
He suggested that Malaysian companies could use Azerbaijan as a hub for their regional operations and a gateway to neighbouring markets.
Prospects for trade and investment in Azerbaijan were good, he noted, particularly through programmes for rebuilding, restoring, and reconstructing freed territories after the Second Karabakh War in 2020.
"There is huge potential for Malaysian companies producing semiconductors to supply them to Azerbaijan, where there is high demand for such products in the development of the liberated areas.
"Azerbaijan has created a conducive environment for investors in this regard," he said after paying a courtesy call on Bernama chief executive officer Roslan Ariffin at his office here on Friday (June 16).
The Alat Free Economic Zone (Afez), next to the Baku International Sea Trade Port, was designed to attract investors in high-value-added, export-oriented manufacturing, he explained.
He encouraged Malaysian businessmen to make use of the railway link from Afez to export goods to the European and Central Asian markets.
Davudov said Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) runs the country's railway network, which links numerous towns and regions as well as provides access to surrounding countries. An essential component of the regional transport network, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, connects Baku with Tbilisi in Georgia and continues to Kars in Turkey, creating a direct rail link between Europe and Asia.
Bilateral trade between Azerbaijan and Malaysia reached US$94mil (RM429mil) last year, up from US$77mil (RM351mil) in 2021.
Similarly, Davudov advised Azerbaijani investors to explore opportunities in Malaysia and consider the country as a hub to enter other markets within the Asean region.
He added that there were ongoing efforts to showcase investment opportunities in Perak, Negri Sembilan, Sabah and Sarawak.
With a population of 10.4 million, the former Soviet republic in the South Caucasus is an upper-middle-income country, sharing borders with Iran, Georgia, Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Georgia.
This year saw the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Malaysia on April 5, 1993.
The Azerbaijani Embassy in Kuala Lumpur was established in June 2007, while Malaysia's Embassy in Baku opened on April 1, 2014. – Bernama
