The delegation was headed by Mr. Shahmar Movsumov, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of the Department of Economic Issues and Innovative Development Policy of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The members of the delegation also included Mr. Majnun Mammadov, Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, and his deputy, Mrs. Ilhama Gadimova.

The position of Poland

Minister Robert Telus declared that Poland was interested in developing bilateral relations with Azerbaijan in the sector of agriculture and agri-food trade. He also informed that Poland supported any actions intended to bring permanent peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The interlocutors agreed that Polish-Azerbaijani cooperation in agricultural matters was developing well, but added that there was a need for better use of the potential of mutual relations, at both the administration and business levels. In the opinion of the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in order to boost their cooperation, actions needed to be taken to effectively implement the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture between Poland and Azerbaijan, signed in May 2019. Minister Robert Telus pointed out that the Poland-Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation was a good forum for an exchange of views and identification of the directions of cooperation. Its meeting in 2023 was attended by the representatives of the National Support Centre for Agriculture (KOWR) and the General Veterinary Inspectorate.

The position of Azerbaijan’s delegation

Azerbaijan’s delegation expressed first of all its interest in Polish experiences and solutions related to the land management system. In this context, Minister Robert Telus stressed that, in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the family farm was the basis of the agricultural system in Poland. He added that these farms produced high-quality products which were sold all over the words. This is evidenced by the excellent results of total agricultural exports (more than EUR 47.6 billion in 2022). Taking this opportunity, the head of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture mentioned that Polish companies from the agri-food sector were interested in increasing their exports to the Azerbaijani market.

Proposed actions

The Minister of Agriculture of Azerbaijan presented initiatives which could contribute to deepening bilateral cooperation in agricultural matters: actions to enhance mutual trade, cooperation in the field of education, the establishment of joint ventures companies and joint actions in the areas of apiculture, cattle farming and milk processing.

Minister Robert Telus expressed his interest in the presented ideas. He encouraged the partners from Azerbaijan to cooperate with KOWR, which, as a government agency supporting the development of agricultural exports, can facilitate contacts between entrepreneurs from our countries.

Trade with Azerbaijan

In the first 8 months of 2023, the value of the agricultural exports to Azerbaijan was almost EUR 16.8 million (growing by about 70% compared with the analogous period of 2022). The main exported products included: processed food, chocolate and other cocoa-containing processed food, other processed or tinned vegetables, frozen vegetables, live cattle, malt extract and flour-based processed food.