West Bengal likely to flourish agreements with Azerbaijan under trade and investments

Azerbaijan, located in the south Caucasus region of Eurasia, is keen to establish trade and investment exchanges with West Bengal. Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ashraf Shikhaliyev, said the dynamics have shifted all of the sudden to the eastern coast of India starting from West Bengal.

Though a small country, Azerbaijan has a huge potential, he said at a session organised by BNCCI here on Friday. The envoy said language would not be a hurdle as English was spoken in Azerbaijan to some extent.

Some of the sectors which had good potential for exchanges were information and communication, transport, petrochemical and chemicals, hospitality, tourism, agriculture and food processing. Shikhaliyev said Azerbaijan would also be a suitable destination for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions) tourism for Indian companies as it had the potential to bring it back to India.

Filming in Azerbaijan was also a feasible area as the cost of shooting was much lower than Europe and the country was blessed with mountains, forests and the sea. Direct flight from Baku, capital do Azerbaijan, to New Delhi would start shortly, he said.