Ukraine and Azerbaijan discuss expanding agricultural trade and developing new investment projects

Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi met Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to Ukraine Seymur Mardaliyev. Deputy Minister Denys Bashlyk and Deputy Head of Mission and Counsellor at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Ukraine Farid Babayev also attended the meeting.

The parties discussed expanding bilateral cooperation in agriculture, increasing trade between the two countries, attracting Azerbaijani investment to Ukraine’s agricultural sector and developing new trade opportunities.

In particular, they addressed the need to restore bilateral trade to its pre-war level of around USD 1 billion a year. The Azerbaijani side emphasised that agriculture could play a key role in achieving this objective.

The Azerbaijani representatives also proposed making greater use of the country’s logistics capabilities to increase supplies of Ukrainian agricultural products, both to the Azerbaijani market and onwards to Central Asia and the Middle East.

Taras Vysotskyi stressed that Ukraine is interested in turning these opportunities into practical results through new logistics solutions, direct links between businesses in both countries and joint investment projects.

“It is important that bilateral cooperation delivers tangible results for Ukrainian agricultural businesses. This means increasing trade, attracting investment, building new partnerships between companies and opening up additional sales channels for Ukrainian products. We are ready to work with the Azerbaijani side on concrete projects in these areas,” Taras Vysotskyi said.

The parties also discussed the prospects for restoring logistics routes across the Black Sea. The Ukrainian side emphasised that the safety of civilian shipping remained the principal requirement for stable maritime connections.

The meeting also covered preparations for the next session of the Joint Ukrainian-Azerbaijani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, planned for late November.

Azerbaijan proposed using the session as a platform for sector-specific business-to-business meetings between companies from both countries, as well as arranging visits to Ukrainian regions to explore potential investment projects.

The parties agreed to continue developing concrete proposals to increase bilateral trade, attract investment and expand the presence of Ukrainian agricultural products in new markets.