Russia-Azerbaijan Interregional Forum opens in Moscow

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The 10th Russia-Azerbaijan Interregional Forum opened in Russia's capital Moscow on Friday.

The forum, organized by the economic development ministries of Russia and Azerbaijan, serves as a discussion venue where officials, local administrators and business representatives examine and seek to deepen bilateral cooperation.

Addressing the participants of the forum, Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin stressed that Russia and Azerbaijan had ambitious tasks before them in the fields of transport and technology modernization as well as cooperation in industry and agriculture.

"I am confident that the interregional forum will help implement key projects in these areas," he said.

In turn, his Azerbaijani counterpart Mikayil Jabbarov stressed that Azerbaijani-Russian relations have been based on the principles of friendship, mutual respect and reliable partnership for many years.

"Azerbaijani investors are involved in various projects in Russia, and joint projects are being actively implemented in our country. Russia is one of Azerbaijan's key trading partners, and relations between our countries are traditionally based on strategic and mutually beneficial interests," he said.