BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. Azerbaijan and
Türkiye are seeking to connect a large region, including Eurasia,
through electricity interconnections, Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister
Parviz Shahbazov said at a briefing following the signing ceremony
of the 5th Azerbaijan-Türkiye Energy Forum, Trend’s correspondent reports
from the event.
“We are discussing not only electricity generation but also
electricity interconnections. We want to connect a large region,
Eurasia, through Azerbaijan and Türkiye,” Shahbazov said.
The minister said he had arrived in Baku with a delegation
broadly representing Türkiye’s energy sector and that the 5th
Azerbaijan-Türkiye Energy Forum had successfully concluded.
“It is generally known that brotherly and partnership relations
exist between Azerbaijan and Türkiye. As a result of the political
will of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and
President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, these
relations have developed even more strongly in recent years. With
the Shusha Declaration, our ties and relations have taken on the
character of a strategic alliance,” Shahbazov said.
According to him, as reflected in the Shusha Declaration, energy
cooperation contributes to the development not only of the two
countries but also of the broader region, and this process will
continue.
The minister noted that major projects implemented between
Azerbaijan and Türkiye, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan,
Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum, TANAP and STAR projects, contribute not only
to the prosperity of the two countries but also to the broader
region and participants in the global energy market.
“Our cooperation also makes a major contribution to the energy
security of the European Union. It is through Türkiye that our
energy resources are delivered to global markets. This cooperation
continues in both oil and gas. In recent years, we have already
supplied gas to 16 countries, which in itself is a good example of
how intensively Azerbaijan-Türkiye relations are developing,” he
said.
Shahbazov emphasized that the goal of the Azerbaijan-Türkiye
Energy Forum is not only to continue existing cooperation but also
to identify future prospects and upcoming challenges.
“We want to continue our successful cooperation in oil and gas
in the area of electrification as well. With the beginning of the
new electricity era, the development of digitalization and
artificial intelligence will require large amounts of electricity.
We have major plans in this area. We are discussing not only
electricity generation but also electricity interconnections. We
want to connect a large region, Eurasia, through Azerbaijan and
Türkiye,” the minister added.
According to him, discussions are currently underway on the
electricity interconnection between Nakhchivan and Türkiye, the
Azerbaijan-Georgia-Türkiye-Bulgaria electricity interconnection, as
well as new electricity interconnections planned to run across the
Black Sea.
“All of these will make it possible to transmit both renewable
electricity and electricity in general over long distances and to
regions of interest to us. At the same time, Azerbaijan is
continuing the same processes with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, that
is, with Central Asia. We are discussing all of these issues in an
integrated manner within the framework of the Energy Forum,”
Shahbazov said.
