BAKU, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The European Union has approved 14.5 million euros of aid for Azerbaijan aimed at helping regional development, the country's ministry of economy said in a message Friday.
Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev and EU Ambassador to Azerbaijan Malena Mard signed appropriate agreement on Dec. 9, the message says.
The agreement envisages twinning and technical assistance, creation of an information system for business in rural areas, improvement of system supporting the development of small and medium enterprises and family farming in rural areas, implementation of consulting services in agriculture, ect.
According to the minister, the EU is Azerbaijan's biggest export and import market with a 50% and 35% share in Azerbaijan's total exports and imports respectively.
Shahin Mustafayev pointed out that Azerbaijan plays an important role in ensuring Europe's energy security.
The minister said that as of today, the European Union and Azerbaijan have successfully implemented 26 projects and now work on some 11 additional projects.
EU relations with Azerbaijan date back to 1991 and are based on the EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (1999), which provides for wide-ranging cooperation in the areas of political dialogue trade, investment, in economic matters, legislation and culture. Since then, the European Union has gradually expanded the scope of its assistance to and cooperation with Azerbaijan.
The EU's exports to Azerbaijan consist primarily of machinery and transport equipment whereas EU imports from Azerbaijan cover mainly oil and gas.
The EU is not only the main trade partner of Azerbaijan, but also a key foreign investor. The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the European Union to Azerbaijan was worth in 4.7 billion euros in 2013, representing 57% of total FDI flows to Azerbaijan that year. Between 2009 and 2013 FDI to Azerbaijan from the EU more than doubled.
