Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan Agree to Establish Joint Business Council

Signing ceremony of an agreement to establish a joint Saudi-Azerbaijani business council to enhance trade and investment in the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Signing ceremony of an agreement to establish a joint Saudi-Azerbaijani business council to enhance trade and investment in the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan Agree to Establish Joint Business Council

Signing ceremony of an agreement to establish a joint Saudi-Azerbaijani business council to enhance trade and investment in the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Signing ceremony of an agreement to establish a joint Saudi-Azerbaijani business council to enhance trade and investment in the two countries (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC) and the Small and Medium Business Development Agency in Azerbaijan signed on Monday an agreement to establish a joint business council in efforts to enhance intra-trade between the Kingdom and Azerbaijan and increase the volume of trade and investment cooperation.

The signing of the agreement coincides with the 17th session of the Saudi-Azerbaijani Joint Committee held in Baku, where the signing ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Investment Eng. Khaled Al-Falih.

This agreement reflects the keenness of the two countries and the business sectors to raise the volume of trade and investment exchanges.

The Joint Business Council will carry out a number of commercial and promotional activities in promoting and expanding Azerbaijani-Saudi trade and economic cooperation by focusing on the targeted sectors in the economic cooperation agenda in the two countries.

It will also provide a platform for Saudis and Azerbaijani businessmen to introduce and promote their activities and establish business partnerships.

The joint business council will be concerned with opening new qualitative areas for economic cooperation while facilitating continuous interaction between the Saudi and Azerbaijani business sectors.

The council will work to address challenges and obstacles, as well as exchange information on available markets and investment opportunities, and enable trade and investment partnerships.

The Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the environment and investment incentives it provides constitute promising investment opportunities for Azerbaijani business owners in various economic sectors.

The establishment of a Saudi-Azerbaijan Business Council provides a valuable opportunity for Azerbaijani companies to deal with the Saudi market, which is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.

It will also provide a platform for Saudis and Azerbaijani businessmen to introduce and promote their activities and establish business partnerships.

The FSC also organized on Monday a meeting in Riyadh for the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with the heads and members of chambers of commerce, national committees, and business councils.

The meeting discussed ways to boost cooperation between the two parties and how to activate the role of the Saudi private sector in the PIF's current and future projects, in addition to increasing the local content in its projects and purchases.

The FSC stressed the effectiveness of the partnership between the public and private sectors, as well as the importance of communicating with the PIF as well as supporting the business sector, offering investment opportunities for it, and creating initiatives that contribute to achieving strong growth rates for the private sector, in line with Vision 2030.

The meeting also shed light on the PIF's projects and the opportunities available to the Saudi business sector, and how the sector can benefit from them.



Syria to Receive Electricity-generating Ships from Qatar, Türkiye

FILE PHOTO: A view shows electricity pylons in Kiswah, Damascus suburbs, Syria September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows electricity pylons in Kiswah, Damascus suburbs, Syria September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
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Syria to Receive Electricity-generating Ships from Qatar, Türkiye

FILE PHOTO: A view shows electricity pylons in Kiswah, Damascus suburbs, Syria September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view shows electricity pylons in Kiswah, Damascus suburbs, Syria September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo

Syria will receive two electricity-generating ships from Türkiye and Qatar to boost energy supplies hit by damage to infrastructure during President Bashar al-Assad's rule, state news agency SANA quoted an official as saying on Tuesday.
Khaled Abu Dai, director general of the General Establishment for Electricity Transmission and Distribution, told SANA the ships would provide a total of 800 megawatts of electricity but did not say over what period.
"The extent of damage to the generation and transformation stations and electrical connection lines during the period of the former regime is very large, we are seeking to rehabilitate (them) in order to transmit energy,” Abu Dai said.
According to Reuters, he did not say when Syria would receive the two ships.
The United States on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of Assad's rule to try to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance.
The exemption allows some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7. The action did not remove any sanctions.
Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available just two or three hours a day in most areas. The caretaker government says it aims within two months to provide electricity up to eight hours a day.