In 2023, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Germany amounted to 1.8 billion dollars. In the first seven months of this year, compared to last year, our trade turnover decreased by 13.2% to 848 million dollars. The reason for this decline is the drop in oil prices compared to last year, which has caused the turnover to decrease.

Axar.az reports that these words were noted by economic expert Natig Jafarli.

He mentioned that 154 German companies operate in Azerbaijan, and Germans have invested a total of 572 million dollars in our country over the years, with a large part of this amount directed toward the energy sector.

The expert presented a comparative analysis of Germany's interest in Kazakhstan:

"In 2023, Kazakhstan's trade turnover with Germany increased by 41% (!) compared to 2022, reaching nearly 4 billion dollars. In the first seven months of 2024, the trade turnover increased 1.5 times compared to the same period of 2023, reaching 2.3 billion dollars. In Kazakhstan, 1,100 German companies are operating, and last year alone, German companies invested 770 million dollars in Kazakhstan.

During Olaf Scholz's visit to Kazakhstan, 66 large agreements and projects were signed between the two countries, which are expected to be realized in the next 10 years. The total investment capacity of these projects will be 55 billion dollars. Over the next 10 years, 100,000 new jobs will be created in Kazakhstan within the framework of these 66 large investment projects alone. It should also be noted that the Kazakh government has prepared and adopted joint investment projects with other countries up to 2030, attracting approximately 150 billion dollars in foreign investments by 2030."

According to N. Jafarli, Kazakhstan's investment attractiveness has significantly increased in recent years:

"Reputable rating agencies like Moody's and Fitch have raised Kazakhstan's rating to the level of a 'country suitable for investment.' In making this decision, they wrote that Kazakhstan's governance and political reforms, as well as positive changes in its judicial system, played an important role in the rating increase."

It should be noted that Kazakhstan, the largest country in Central Asia, has an area of 2,724,900 square kilometers and a population of more than 20 million. At the same time, Kazakhstan, being a neighbor of China, is one of the countries of most interest to the EU.