How the "muddy business" of the Azerbaijani " Akromal " poisons trade between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan

[Namikl Akhmadov]

How the "muddy business" of the Azerbaijani " Akromal " poisons trade between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan

 

Note: from Azerbaijani " Akromal " is translated as "White Shawl". It turns out, on business, " Akromal " has nothing to do with anything white and clean.

Relations between the two fraternal Turkic states have been developing dynamically not only since their independence, but since Soviet times. Baku and Tashkent have always been friends, as the famous film says, "not only at home, but also with families." The late leaders of the republic, Heydar Aliyev and Sharof Rashidov, were united by personal friendship. This sincerity in relations has been and is shared by the ties between the Azerbaijani and Uzbek peoples in our time.

In the newest era, the current heads of state of the two countries, Ilham Heydarovich Aliyev and Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev, also support consistency, the mood to strengthen and expand cooperation in Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations.

It is appropriate to recall the very successful and productive visit of I. Aliyev to Tashkent in June last, 2022. It was noted that in 2021 the volume of bilateral trade increased by 42%, and in 2022 by another 52%. The parties agreed to take measures to form a range and increase mutual supplies of products, conclude long-term trade contracts for the mutual supply of fruits and vegetables, food, textile, leather and footwear products to the trade networks of the two countries. Mutual interest was confirmed in accelerating the creation of the Azerbaijan-Uzbek Investment Fund, as well as working out the financial and technical aspects of 5 large projects worth over $ 700 million.

During the visit, a solid package of documents worth more than $500 million was signed.

In August this year . a return visit of the President of Uzbekistan Sh. Mirziyoyev to Baku is expected. There is no doubt that the visit will be successful. The head of Uzbekistan, accompanied by the head of Azerbaijan, will open a school for 940 students in the liberated city of Fuzuli . This is the first such facility built in Karabakh by a foreign state as a gift to the fraternal Azerbaijani people!

 

Gift of the people and government of Uzbekistan to the people of Azerbaijan:

A Building of a new school in Fizuli under construction.

 

However, the question arises: where does the "turbidity" of " Akromal " and how did it manage to "inherit" so negatively in the Azerbaijani-Uzbek trade and economic relations!?

And here's the thing: in 2020, Akromal signed a contract with the Uzbek state foreign trade company Uztrade , under which it received textiles worth almost $1.3 million from a number of manufacturing factories in Uzbekistan. To date, I have paid only a little over $900,000 for the supplied products. The outstanding debt is almost $ 400 thousand dollars. By the way, Uztrade is a 100% state-owned company and is part of the structure of the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan (the former Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations).

After repeated requests from the Uzbek company, Akromal confirmed its debt in writing in February 2022 and promised to pay off its debt by July 1, 2022. However, things are still there. Director Gasan Sharipov does not pick up the phone, he does not answer letters, he throws out appeals, including appeals from Azerbaijani state bodies, the mayor's office of Baku and the executive administration of the Nasimi district, where the huge shopping center and warehouse terminals " Akromal " are located along Seid Jafar Pishevari street, House # 2A .

 

 

Gasan Muallemu what! He does not care that Uzbek businessmen will judge the integrity of representatives of Azerbaijani business by his behavior. Gasan Muallem , apparently, is used to saying, "goodbye," as our Talysh fellow countrymen sing in their famous song.

By the way, in the shopping center " Akromal " on Pishevari street there is also a trading floor - "Uzbek Bazaar". This brand "Uzbek Bazaar" is opened by " Akromal " also in several other shopping centers in Baku. Apparently, his business with the Uzbeks is still going well. See photo:

 

As for the Uzbek partners represented by Uztrade , they were subjected to huge fines and fines by the financial and customs authorities of Uzbekistan because of the receivables unpaid by the Azerbaijani company. In fact, at present the company is deprived of the opportunity to carry out mutual settlements and engage in foreign trade activities.

Uztrade company alone could increase the mutual trade turnover by $50 million over the past couple of years! And how many businessmen from Uzbekistan, having heard about this problem, were afraid to do business with potential partners from the Republic of Azerbaijan!?

It probably makes sense to learn from Gasan Muallem (since the environment addresses him as “ muallem ” - a teacher), how to “throw” your trading partners. It does not matter that they are from a fraternal Turkic country, which has always helped and is helping now, after the Patriotic 2nd Karabakh War, in the restoration of the destroyed Azerbaijani regions. He has “his shirt closer to his body”, despite the fact that he is a multimillionaire and a very rich Baku businessman. Or, can we already talk about him as a "muddy" businessman, poisoning Azerbaijani-Uzbek relations? And who would want to deal with him further if they knew about this case, and probably many other similar cases?

It seems that it makes sense for the relevant Azerbaijani state bodies to remove this irritant from the agenda and pay attention to this problem so as not to further complicate mutually beneficial cooperation between Baku and Tashkent. Especially against the background of the planned state visit of the President of Uzbekistan to Baku in August, the opening of a school in the city of Fuzuli and other memorable events in the relationship between the two countries.

 

N. Ahmadov