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Saudi-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership to Boost Economy, Renewable Energy

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership to Boost Economy, Renewable Energy

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Azerbaijan stressed the importance of strengthening its strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, especially in trade, economy, and renewable energy, to boost regional and international cooperation.

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev said both countries are exploring new opportunities for cooperation, particularly in renewable energy and climate.

Rafiyev highlighted the annual consultations between Riyadh and Baku as an important way to strengthen bilateral ties.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the COP 16 climate conference in Riyadh, Rafiyev said he discussed joint projects with Saudi officials.

Rafiyev also pointed to the success of renewable energy cooperation, with Saudi firm ACWA Power leading a 240-megawatt offshore wind farm project in Azerbaijan.

At the conference, ACWA Power signed an agreement with UAE’s Masdar and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR Green to develop 3.5 gigawatts of offshore wind in the Caspian Sea, the first such project in Azerbaijan.

He added that Azerbaijan is becoming a key regional hub, linking the Gulf to Central Asia, and plays an active role in international climate finance, having led the Non-Aligned Movement for over four years.

Azerbaijan is working to expand its partnerships with Saudi Arabia, capitalizing on its strategic location and growing role in the global economy, said Rafiyev.

At the COP 16 climate conference in Riyadh, Rafiyev highlighted the importance of the recent COP29 conference in Baku, which helped strengthen ties between the two countries.

“The conference succeeded with Saudi support, leading to a new vision for cooperation that is currently being explored,” he said.

Rafiyev emphasized Azerbaijan’s role as a gateway for Gulf countries to Central Asia, playing a key part in linking these regions.

He also pointed to Azerbaijan’s contribution to international climate negotiations, securing a $300 billion financial target from developed nations to support developing countries.

Reflecting on Azerbaijan’s global influence, Rafiyev noted the country’s leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement for over four years.

“During our leadership, we showed our ability to play a significant global role,” he said.

He also spoke about Azerbaijan’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the country helped unite developed and developing nations.

“We turned pandemic challenges into opportunities for cooperation, gaining unanimous support for a resolution at the UN,” Rafiyev added.

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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
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Trump Exempts Mexico Goods from Tariffs for a Month, but Doesn’t Mention Canada

Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)
Construction workers are seen on the site of a new development in Long Beach, California, March 5, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said Mexico won't be required to pay tariffs on any goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade until April 2, but made no mention of a reprieve for Canada despite his Commerce secretary saying a comparable exemption was likely.

"After speaking with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, I have agreed that Mexico will not be required to pay Tariffs on anything that falls under the USMCA Agreement," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This Agreement is until April 2nd."

Earlier on Thursday, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the one-month reprieve on hefty tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada that has been granted to automotive products is likely to be extended to all products that comply with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade.

Lutnick told CNBC he expected Trump to announce that extension on Thursday, a day after exempting automotive goods from the 25% tariffs he slapped on imports from Canada and Mexico earlier in the week.

Trump "is going to decide this today," Lutnick said, adding "it's likely that it will cover all USMCA-compliant goods and services."

"So if you think about it this way, if you lived under Donald Trump's US-Mexico-Canada agreement, you will get a reprieve from these tariffs now. If you chose to go outside of that, you did so at your own risk, and today is when that reckoning comes," he said.

Nonetheless, Trump's social media post made no mention of a reprieve for Canada, the other party to the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Lutnick said his "off the cuff" estimate was that more than 50% of the goods imported from the two US neighbors - also its largest two trading partners - were compliant with the USMCA deal that Trump negotiated during his first term as president.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Lutnick's comments "promising" in remarks to reporters in Canada.

"That aligns with some of the conversations that we have been having with administration officials, but I'm going to wait for an official agreement to talk about Canadian response and look at the details of it," Trudeau said. "But it is a promising sign. But I will highlight that it means that the tariffs remain in place, and therefore our response will remain in place."

Lutnick emphasized that the reprieve would only last until April 2, when he said the administration plans to move ahead with reciprocal tariffs under which the US will impose levies that match those imposed by trading partners.

In the meantime, he said, the current hiatus is about getting fentanyl deaths down, which is the initial justification Trump used for the tariffs on Mexico and Canada and levies on Chinese goods that have now risen to 20%.

"On April 2, we're going to move with the reciprocal tariffs, and hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table, and we'll move just to the reciprocal tariff conversation," Lutnick said. "But if they haven't, this will stay on."

Indeed, Trudeau is expecting the US and Canada to remain in a trade war.

"I can confirm that we will continue to be in a trade war that was launched by the United States for the foreseeable future," he told reporters in Ottawa.