BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 8. Energy is among
the most promising areas of cooperation between Slovakia and
Azerbaijan, Zuzana Pelakova, Director of Economy and Business
Program of GLOBSEC, a global think-tank based in Bratislava, told
Trend.


“For Slovakia, natural gas imports are the clear priority. Gas
flows from Russia through Ukraine stopped in 2024 after an
understandable decision by the Ukrainian side, and the Slovak
economy, which relies heavily on natural gas, is now seeking ways
to diversify its supply. The main constraint lies in
infrastructure. Pipelines from Türkiye through the Balkans and
further north are fully booked. Slovakia is ready to diversify, but
the physical bottlenecks need to be addressed first,” she said.


The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) delivered natural
gas to Slovakia’s SPP, the country’s largest state-owned energy
supplier in throughout December 2024.


Gas supplies, which began on December 1, 2024, were conducted
under a short-term pilot agreement between SOCAR and SPP.


As for green energy cooperation, Pelakova pointed out that
Slovakia already exports heat pumps to Azerbaijan, which play an
important role in reducing emissions when powered by low-carbon
electricity.


“Slovakia itself has one of the cleanest electricity mixes in
Europe thanks to its strong nuclear sector, and it is set to become
the country with the highest share of nuclear energy in the world,”
she said, adding that Slovak companies active in the nuclear energy
field would be ready to share their experience and cooperate.







Further, Pelakova went on to add that although Azerbaijan is
Slovakia’s main trading partner in the Caucasus, overall economic
cooperation is still quite limited.


She believes that Azerbaijan’s eventual accession to the World
Trade Organization (WTO) would open the door to deeper trade
ties.


Pelakova also highlighted the importance of development of the
Middle Corridor for strengthening the regional economic ties.


“Infrastructure remains the main obstacle to stronger economic
cooperation, especially in the energy sector, but also in many
other areas. For this reason alone, the Middle Corridor would be
important regardless of its link to Central Asia. The current
Slovak government is working to strengthen ties with Central Asian
countries, including Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan,” she concluded.


The latest data from Azerbaijan’s state customs committee
reveals that export to Slovakia in the first ten months of 2025
stood at $564 780, while imports from this country totaled more
than $36.139 million.