No: 10/17, Press release on Strategic and Economic forum between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperaton Council
In the first half of 2017, it is planned to hold a Strategic and Economic Forum between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States in Baku.
The purpose of the Forum is to identify joint projects for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas such as economy, trade, investment, energy, tourism, agriculture, food security, transport, culture and sports and to encourage direct contacts among the business circles. In the event, high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan and the GCC member states, respectively the representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, economy, trade and industry, chambers of commerce, businessmen, private companies, sovereign funds and financial-investment corporations will participate in an expanded format. In December 2016, the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited the GCC headquarters in Riyadh and held meetings to discuss issues related to the organization of the Forum.
The Memorandum of Understanding on the mechanism of consultations between the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry and the Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council signed in Baku on June 2013, is the basis for institutionalized cooperation between Azerbaijan and the GCC. Traditional friendly relations on cooperation and mutual understanding between Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries exist on a bilateral basis.
The announcement of the year 2017 as "The Year of the Islamic Solidarity in Azerbaijan" by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, hosting the Islamic Solidarity Games, high-level mutual visits between the GCC member states and Azerbaijan in recent years, demonstration of the political will of the sides for the development of relations, tourism and the growth of people to people contact creates new favorable conditions for the development of cooperation.
The strategic and Economic Forum between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the GCC Member States which will be held in Baku will contribute to the development of comprehensive cooperation.