Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said that Azerbaijan pays special attention to equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with the European Union (EU).

He set the phrase during the joint press conference with EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi on February 4, Trend has reported.

The minister noted that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of Europe in the energy security issue.

"In 2021, European countries purchased 8.2 billion cubic meters of gas, and an increase in the volume in the coming years is a matter of discussion. These issues were discussed in detail at a meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council in Baku," he said.

Projects financing

The minister also stated that part of the cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan is collaboration within the Eastern Partnership.

He emphasized that financing of EU projects in Azerbaijan within the Eastern Partnership is underway.

"We presented the EU with a list of priority projects for us, and the EU expressed interest in most of them. To this end, it was proposed to create a working group and study the projects in detail," he said.

New agreement

Bayramov noted that a new comprehensive agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan may be signed in 2022.

The minister noted that negotiations are underway, and proposals on unfinished issues in the agreement are now being evaluated by specialists.

Bilateral cooperation

Bayramov also noted that transport and communications are an important area of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU.

He added that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the EU amounted to $15.2 billion in 2021.

"This growth was mainly due to the increase in gas prices. Azerbaijan can become a bridge between the EU and Central Asian countries in the transport sector," he said.

In turn, Varhelyi underlined that the EU is committed to partnership with Azerbaijan in the energy sector.

He noted that due to the global shortage of energy resources, the EU needs trustworthy partners, and Azerbaijan is one such reliable partners.

Peace in South Caucasus

At the same time, Varhelyi underlined that the EU is ready to contribute to the establishment of peace in the South Caucasus.

“We are ready to support efforts to reconcile the parties. There are various opportunities for this,” he said.

The commissioner noted that the EU is also ready to provide financial and technical support in the process of delimitation and demarcation of borders, and demining territories.

“As it is known, the path to peace begins with small steps. Therefore, we are willing to provide financial and technical support to the parties,” he said.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz