BAKU – Azerbaijan on Saturday announced a five-year tax exemption on riceimport from Pakistan.
The move is aimed at stimulating growth of the bilateral trade betweenPakistan and Azerbaijan.
Speaking at the international conference “Along the Middle Corridor:Geopolitics, Security and Economy” at ADA University in Baku the other day,Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said the decision was the outcome of hismeetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held over the lastcouple of months.
During these meetings, the president said, they discussed the agenda oftheir bilateral relations.
The Azerbaijani president was responding to questions raised by ExecutiveDirector of Center for Global and Strategic Studies of Pakistan KhalidTaimur Akram, as a participant.
The president said he discussed with Pakistan’s prime minister, theprospects of further intensifying the bilateral economic and tradecooperation and the decision over special regulations for rice fromPakistan, was a reflection of that.
He said they had decided to take this step in order to stimulate the growthof mutual trade between the two countries.
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“Why should we buy rice from some other place if we have high-quality ricein the brotherly country? So, that decision was clearly based on ourbrotherly relations,” the Azeri media quoted the president as saying.
Commenting further, the Azerbaijan president said that his country enjoyedexcellent relations with Pakistan.
President Aliyev said: “We are very grateful to Pakistan for the continuoussupport which the country demonstrates with respect to Azerbaijan-Armeniarelations.
“During the times of occupation, during the war, and after the liberationof our territories, Pakistan was always with us. And this political andmoral support is highly appreciated by the people of Azerbaijan.”
