Azerbaijan has good potential for alternative energy production
By Rashid Shirinov
Azerbaijan has a good potential for the production of wind, solar and bio energy, said Gunther Oettinger, the European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources.
He made the remarks on June 1during the meeting with Shahin Mustafayev, Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister and Chairman of the Azerbaijani State Commission on Cooperation with the EU.
Ottinger noted that the relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are based on mutual trust, as well as positively assessed the results achieved by Azerbaijan and expressed confidence that the reforms carried out by the country will be successful and long-lasting.
The Commissioner noted that the main direction of cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan is the energy sector and stressed the importance of TANAP and TAP projects in this regard.
Mustafayev, in turn, stressed that the EU is the main foreign trade partner of Azerbaijan. In 2012-2017, the EU invested $15.3 billion in Azerbaijan, which is 38.2 percent of the investment in the country’s economy. Presently, Azerbaijan cooperates with more than 1,500 companies of the EU countries.
The minister also noted that Azerbaijan plays a significant role in ensuring Europe's energy security and cooperates with the EU on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan project. Stressing the opening of the Southern Gas Corridor, he said that this project is an excellent example of cooperation in the field of energy.
Azerbaijan also cooperates with the EU within the Twinning, TAIEX and Budget Support instruments. So far, Azerbaijan has received support in the amount of 595 million euros within the instruments.
To date, bilateral relations between the EU and Azerbaijan are regulated on the basis of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement of 1996, which entered into force in 1999. The EU is Azerbaijan's first trading partner representing about 51 percent of Azerbaijan's total trade. The EU's exports to Azerbaijan consist primarily of machinery and transport equipment whereas EU imports from Azerbaijan cover mainly oil and gas (98 percent of total imports).
Azerbaijan's trade turnover with the EU amounted to $9.4 billion in 2017, which is 52.35 percent more than in 2016. Azerbaijan exported goods worth $7.45 billion to the EU countries in 2017.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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