Azerbaijan-Sri Lanka: transport corridors, energy, tourism Ambassador Shikhaliyev talks to Ceylon Today

Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to India and concurrently accredited to Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, Dr. Ashraf Shikhaliyev spoke to Ceylon Today on Sri Lanka’s strategic location near the East-West shipping corridor and how to reap the benefits.

“The country should consider joining the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which will not only benefit Sri Lankan exporters, but also exporters of the neighbouring East Asian countries,” he said.

The Ambassador also spoke about Sri Lanka-Azerbaijan ties and matters of mutual interest. 

Dr. Shikhaliyev was appointed in April 2018 and presented his credentials to then President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena on May 6, 2019. He is stationed in New Delhi.

Caliber.Az presents the excerpts from the interview:

- As a diplomat stationed in New Delhi, you may have read a lot about Sri Lanka’s present financial and economic crisis. How would you describe the recent financial crisis and protests for a better life in a geopolitical context?

- We believe that Sri Lanka has a resilient economy and it will overcome the temporary difficulties it is facing due to imported inflation from outside on account of the ongoing problems in the global arena. We care for the people of Sri Lanka and believe that the strong unity among the developing countries – members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) would enable our countries to mitigate the adverse impacts on their economies from outside factors. As a present chair country of NAM, Azerbaijan tries its best towards this end and counts on the support of Sri Lanka and other NAM countries.

- Sri Lanka, strategically located near the East-West shipping corridor, has yet to reap the benefits and is instead caught in a geopolitical trap. Do you see what I mean?

- I totally agree with you. The way out for Sri Lanka is to join the International North-South Transport Corridor. We believe that it will benefit not only Sri Lanka, but also other countries in the region. The Embassy of Azerbaijan is ready to facilitate contact between the relevant government agencies of both countries as well as visits of experts. 

- Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were reportedly invited by Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya to invest in the island’s energy sector, as efforts are being made to liberalise the sector. What is the latest on this? How can Azerbaijan help Sri Lanka with energy matters, and have investors get in touch with Sri Lanka?

- The energy sector is the driving force behind the economy of any country. As an oil-producing country, Azerbaijan is ready to share its expertise with the friendly country of Sri Lanka. The embassy would be glad to facilitate contact between the relevant ministries and the State energy companies of both countries. Initial contact can be made virtually and then expert delegations will pursue the main issues on which an agreement was reached. We believe that through this, we can make good progress in terms of cooperation in the energy sector.

- In terms of tourism, it appears that Azerbaijanis are visiting Sri Lanka in smaller numbers. How can both countries boost their tourism sectors, given that Sri Lanka is a largely untapped market for both Azerbaijanis and Sri Lankans in Azerbaijan?

- As I mentioned earlier, each side has to make an effort to make both countries known to each other. This can be done through tourism fairs, business forums, and effective PR campaigns in the local media of each country. But to drive the tourism trend up, direct flights between Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka is a crucial area which relevant government agencies should study. Direct flights connecting the capitals of both countries could definitely boost the number of tourists between both countries.

- There are numerous opportunities for Sri Lankan youth to study in Azerbaijan, and several students are presently attempting to study there. Is the Government of Azerbaijan promoting foreign students to study there? Or is it a complicated affair for Asians to study in Azerbaijan?

- There is a government programme for foreign students called ‘Study in Azerbaijan’. The programme is placed on the website of the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan. Sri Lankan youths can explore the programme, search the relevant universities in Azerbaijan and submit their applications. If selected, they will have a chance to study at the best universities in Azerbaijan. Young people of Sri Lanka can also approach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka for the scholarships of Non-Aligned Movement countries, which are allocated annually by the Government of Azerbaijan and submitted via the Embassies of Azerbaijan. NAM scholarships cover education at the Bachelor, Master and Doctoral level. Some universities also have their scholarship programmes and the applicants can discuss this directly with the universities. As you can see, studying in Azerbaijan is not a complicated affair at all. But the universities try to enrol good students. They have their own selection criteria that the applicants have to meet to be accepted.

- Also, are there any instances of Sri Lankan students facing accidental death? Is studying there safe?

- As I said, Azerbaijan is a safe country. Three Sri Lankan female students who were sharing an apartment died of smoke inhalation when a fire broke out in their basement due to a faulty electrical system. This was a tragedy. Students should rent modern apartments and avoid old houses with loose and faulty electrical wiring, which can be hazardous. 

- How would you describe the two countries’ bilateral ties? What are the potential Sri Lankan exports to Azerbaijan that might be promoted? Similarly, what are the potential imports from Azerbaijan to Sri Lanka if the groundwork is laid?

- Diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Azerbaijan were established on 4 August 1992 and have since been developing. Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka mainly cooperate within global organisations, but at the same time, there are ample opportunities for expanding the bilateral relations between the two countries. Sri Lankan nationals are visiting Azerbaijan, the ‘Land of Fire’, for study and tourism purposes.

Ceylon tea is extremely popular in Azerbaijan and has a considerable share of the total tea consumption in Azerbaijan. Last year, Azerbaijan imported 11,600 tons of black and green Ceylon tea worth USD 63 million from Sri Lanka. For comparison, Azerbaijan imported just 817 tons of tea worth USD 3 million from India last year.

At the same time, Sri Lanka is an important transport hub in East Asia and the country may greatly benefit by joining the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The North-South Corridor connects India via Iran, and Azerbaijan to the large markets of the European Union and Russia. This would be in the interest of Sri Lankan businesses as well as of other countries in the region, which use Sri Lankan ports to access major international markets. The INSTC is not only cost-effective, but also considerably reduces the time of transportation, which is vital for export companies.

Another important area of cooperation might be the purchase of Azerbaijani crude oil, oil products and LNG. If the Government of Sri Lanka is interested, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in New Delhi would gladly facilitate contact with the Ministry of Energy and SOCAR – the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan.

At the same time, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka can explore closer cooperation in boundaryless Information Technologies (IT) and E-Governance. ASAN Service of Azerbaijan presents a successful model in this area, that might be of interest to Sri Lanka. In 2015, the ASAN Service of Azerbaijan received the No. 1 UN Public Service Award among more than 800 applications worldwide. This is the highest world recognition for the government agency for providing transparent, quick and efficient public services to the population. The level of satisfaction by ASAN Service among the people of Azerbaijan is almost 99 per cent. On 15 February 2023, ASAN Service was also awarded the ‘Best Government Service in the World’ among 80 countries at the 10^th World Government Summit held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I think these awards speak for themselves and it might be good for Sri Lanka to adopt this model in the area of E-Governance. Here, I would like to say that if the Government of Sri Lanka evinces interest in a similar model, the IT companies of Azerbaijan may invest in the Sri Lankan market. This will further promote cooperation in other IT areas.

- How would you describe the presence of Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka in both countries?

Azerbaijan will endeavour to broaden cooperation with Sri Lanka through increased economic and development cooperation. Our strategy focuses on maximising the effects of development cooperation in areas where our strengths and partners’ needs coincide. We should stress the need for tailored cooperation in the areas of trade, investment and development assistance and discuss the way forward to promote mutual understanding and exchanges under the Indo-Pacific Strategy of both countries. Our objective is to expand the existing cooperation so that not only the micro and small companies of each country, but also the large companies open their respective offices in Colombo and Baku in the areas we discussed earlier.

- Is it safe to travel to Azerbaijan?

- Azerbaijan is well-connected to many countries of the world by direct flights. Getting a visa to Azerbaijan is very easy and could be obtained within a few hours at the website evisa.gov.az. Azerbaijan is one of the most attractive and safest tourist destinations. The hospitality and warmth of Azerbaijani people, divine local cuisine, amazing souvenirs, and cosy and beautiful streets of the Old City of Baku attract millions of people from around the world to this ancient and mysterious ‘Land of Fire’, and make them come back again and again.

- We heard that the number of visitors coming from South Asia, particularly India, is rapidly increasing in Azerbaijan. Is there information on the promotion of tourism between Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka? We can be sure that it hasn’t been promoted very effectively?

- Truly so. The number of tourists to Azerbaijan from across the world, including South Asia, has been rising steeply. Today Azerbaijan is one of the hottest tourism destinations in India and direct flights between Baku and New Delhi are driving the increase in the number of visitors. Properly speaking, the potential of tourism cooperation between Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka needs to be utilised because both countries are extremely popular and a lot can be done in this area to their mutual benefit. Tourism expos and road shows in both Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka would be helpful towards this end. In September 2018, 120 tourism agents from Travel Agents Association of Sri Lanka (TAASL) visited Azerbaijan to explore tourism potential and present tourism opportunities. Today, this kind of interaction should be encouraged from both sides. 

- Azerbaijan is positioned prominently in the North-South Corridor to promote trade and shipping. Please elaborate on how Sri Lanka would profit from developing this maritime trade route in the future?

- As I said earlier, Sri Lanka should consider joining the North-South Transport Corridor which will not only benefit Sri Lankan exporters, but also exporters of the neighbouring East Asian countries. This will enable to considerably reduce the time and cost of transportation of the goods to major international markets. I should also add that an expert of Colombo Port spent several months in Azerbaijan in 2019 to learn the opportunities offered by North-South Transport Corridor and completed a comprehensive study on this issue. We think that similar studies would be beneficial to enable the Government of Sri Lanka to take the decision on joining the INSTC.

- Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka was USD 6057.4 million in January-June 2015. How is it now and what is blocking the growth of trade ties between the two countries? 

- According to the information of the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the trade between the two countries is inclined in favour of Sri Lanka. The export from Sri Lanka to Azerbaijan in 2015 was USD 14.6 million and according to the information in 2022, the Sri Lankan export to our country was USD 71.3 million. The growth tendency in trade is obvious. Still, we believe that there are opportunities on both sides to drive the trade further and also to balance it. For that, we need to explore their new areas for potential cooperation that we spoke about earlier, particularly in cargo transport, energy, tourism, IT and other areas. https://customs.gov.az/az/faydali/gomruk-statistikasi/xarici-ticaretin-veziyyeti-haqqinda (the statistics on trade imbalance between Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka).

- We also see an increase in the influence of job racketeers who claim that there are jobs in Azerbaijan. Is there any evidence of Sri Lankans being deported, scammed by fake job agencies, and stranded in Azerbaijan? What is your government doing to combat fake jobs, and can you provide statistics on how many Sri Lankans are stranded and how the job agent racket operates?

- That is true. There are many fake agencies created in Azerbaijan by Sri Lankan nationals who try to lure their victims by promising them high-salary jobs in Azerbaijan. People should not fall for such scams, because without applying for a job in a specific company, passing a series of interviews, and having an edge over the other candidates due to better education, qualifications and experience, no high-salary job can be offered anywhere. Sri Lankan nationals should be sceptical of high-salary job offers abroad received out of nowhere, without any application on their behalf. This is not a widespread problem because of the limited number of visitors from Sri Lanka, though it doesn’t make the issue less serious. Law enforcement agencies in Azerbaijan are doing their best to track down such scammers.

- Is it true that there are job opportunities in Azerbaijan for Sri Lankans?

- As I said, if a person is a world-class specialist, he is welcome to apply for vacancies in the companies of Azerbaijan. Highly-skilled professionals, particularly in the area of high tech and IT, can find relevant work in large companies in Azerbaijan. We as the Embassy would encourage contact among professionals and people-to-people contact between our countries.

- Sri Lanka experienced a 30-year war, but Azerbaijan is still working to ease tensions with Russia and Armenia, Iran, and Georgia. What would you say about the present border situation, and how does it affect Azerbaijan’s ability to develop economically and financially?

- I will take this opportunity to stress that Azerbaijan tries to maintain warm and friendly relations with all our neighbours. After the victorious liberation of its territories that were under occupation by Armenia for almost three decades, Azerbaijan generously offered Armenia to mutually recognise each other’s territorial integrity and sign the peace agreement, which will open avenues for wider cooperation in many areas. Armenia should realise it and take advantage of the possibilities opened up by this valuable offer from Azerbaijan.

Today Azerbaijan is a vibrant, financially sound and rapidly developing economy. The country is well-connected to major international markets and is a reliable supplier of energy resources to European countries. Azerbaijan also hosts major international events like Formula 1. This October, some 6,000 experts from 75 countries will come to Azerbaijan to participate in the International Astronautical Congress. Azerbaijan is also an attractive tourist destination for visitors from across the world. The capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, is one of the most beautiful capitals in the world. It harmoniously combines historical and modern architecture. Baku city is a favourite place for Indian film companies to shoot movies. Honeymooners from across the globe visit this romantic city and take home long-lasting memories of their love stories and moments of joy reflected in their photos and videos.