Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Commerce & Industry

14-May-2012 16:44 IST

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry visited recently Azerbaijan on 16th April 2012 to co-chair the 2nd meeting of the India - Azerbaijan Inter Governmental Commission (IAIGC) on trade, economy, science and technology cooperation.

During the said visit for 2nd IAIGC, issues discussed were regarding trade, economic & investment cooperation, transport, energy, fertilizer, financial sector, tourism, culture, pharmaceutical, agriculture, communication and IT, chemical, environmental protection etc. to improve the trade relations between India and Azerbaijan. The project of International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) was also discussed during the meeting and Azerbaijan expressed its willingness to host the next meeting of the Coordination Council of the INSTC in 2012 in Azerbaijan.

In the said visit both the countries showed their interest to explore opportunities for the Indian side to participate in evacuating hydrocarbon through oil and gas pipelines in the Caspian sea, from Azerbaijan side.

Logistics & connectivity and lack of information about each other’s country are the main hurdles in the trade relations between the two countries .Steps are being taken to move the INSTC project ahead.

This information was given by Shri Jyotiradiya M. Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

DS/GK

International trade cooperation advancing via a transport corridor to boost connectivity and enable energy logistics participation. Bilateral trade and economic cooperation was advanced through an intergovernmental commission addressing sectoral collaboration in transport, energy, finance, agriculture, communications and environment, with emphasis on progressing the International North-South Transport Corridor. Both countries expressed interest in Indian participation in evacuating hydrocarbons via pipelines in the Caspian region. Identified constraints to trade expansion are logistics, connectivity and lack of mutual information; steps are being pursued to address these barriers and advance the corridor and related cooperation initiatives.