In the framework of an official visit to Azerbaijan, First Deputy Prime Minister/ Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv met with President Ilham Aliyev. The parties discussed bilateral agenda of the two countries and agreed on the need to prolong a strategic dialogue at the political level.

In 2016 Azerbaijan occupied the 5th place among the CIS countries (after the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova) in terms of trade in goods with Ukraine, therefore it is crucial to maintain and develop economic partnership. On the results of the drafting of the Export Strategy of Ukraine, it is estimated that Azerbaijan is included in the list of countries with which the trade potential is not utilized in full, which makes it a promising market.

Moreover, Stepan Kubiv had a meeting with Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Artur Rasizade to discuss the prospects of political cooperation and potential investment projects between the countries.

Apart from that, the First Vice Prime Minister had talks with Minister of Economic Development of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev. The two officials tackled the directions of economic and industrial cooperation. Stepan Kubiv emphasized that "for Ukraine Azerbaijan is not just an important trading partner, but also an indispensable hub for access to the markets of Asian countries. Azerbaijan's transit potential in the west-east and east-west directions should not be underestimated."