By Sara Israfilbayova

The UK government allocated some £1.3 billion worth of funds within a framework of implementation of Oil & Gas High Value Campaign (HVC) in Azerbaijan in 2016-2017.

The HVC programme identifies large scale overseas projects and aims to provide an intensive level of support to help UK businesses win contracts in and around these opportunities.

The report of the Department for International Trade of the UK Government (DIT) “Overseas Business Risk – Azerbaijan” reads that oil and gas is by far the largest sector in Azerbaijan and therefore currently attracts the most DIT attention.

The report says that Azerbaijan is the second most successful country where DIT HVC is implemented, adding that since October 2015, to support the HVC, DIT, together with the Ministry of Economy, BP and SOCAR, runs the UK/Azerbaijan Partnership Programme to promote and support collaboration between UK and Azerbaijani companies in the oil and gas sector.

To date, this Programme has been responsible for some 65 partnerships and is set to continue for the next three to five years.

Outside of oil and gas, DIT is looking to diversify into other sectors including healthcare, mining, renewable energy, agri-business, tourism and education.

The UK recognized the independence of Azerbaijan on 26 December 1991 and the diplomatic relations between two countries were established a yeal later.

The economic cooperation, especially in the energy sector, between the two countries is a core of the bilateral relations.

Azerbaijan cooperates with the UK in the field of exploration and transportation of the oil and natural gas from the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. BP as a leading oil company has been active in Azerbaijan since 1992 and participates in the main production sharing agreements such as the “Contract of Century” (Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli) and the Shah Deniz project.

The UK has invested over $27 billion in the Azerbaijani economy, so far. Currently, over 500 companies with British capital operate in Azerbaijan.

As an example of the successful activities of British companies in Azerbaijan, can be led BP, which is involved in seven oil and gas projects, including the Southern Gas Corridor and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

The trade turnover with the UK reached $281.1 million last year. Export of national goods to the UK amounted to $41.2 million, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan.

Source www.azernews.az