Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The third Caspian Forum kicked off in Istanbul on December 4.

The Forum brought together senior officials, representatives of companies, and leading experts from 30-35 countries.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the event, Turkish Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici said the resource-rich Caspian Sea region is very attractive for investments.

The countries continue to strengthen economic ties and increase their mutual trade that guarantee the maintenance of peace, stability, and growth in the region's welfare, Yazici said.

Executive Director of Azerbaijan's state oil fund SOFAZ Shahmar Movsumov informed the guests about the oil strategy implemented by Azerbaijan, its goals, and the fund's activity.

He said when the fund was established a few years ago, there was only around $270 million under the state's control, but the fund controls over $35 billion now.

On the second day of the forum, Head of the public and political issues department of presidential administration of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov read Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's congratulatory message to the event's participants.

President Aliyev said Azerbaijan, as a developer of rich hydrocarbon resources, plays an important role in ensuring the energy security of not only its neighboring countries, but also the entire Europe.

"I believe that these important events which involve official representatives of governments, politicians, men of science, and representatives of civil society and business, can make a significant contribution to the deepening of cooperation between the region's countries, growth of mutual investments, revival of the historic Silk Road, and realization of new large-scale trans-national projects that are capable of changing Europe's energy map," the Azerbaijani president said in his message.

He went on to say signing new agreements on the construction of the Trans-Anatolian and the Trans-Adriatic pipelines following the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipelines gave a powerful impetus to the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor, and created the right conditions for transporting the Caspian Sea's energy resources to the world markets via more favorable routes.

"The rapid development of Azerbaijan's economy in the last ten years has created opportunities for implementing large-scale projects in the region and the world and making large investments in the fuel and energy complex, industry, and social infrastructure of different countries," President Aliyev stressed.

"After taking another step on the restoration of the Great Silk Road, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is being constructed at our initiative, will serve to join different civilizations and cultures further," the president noted in his message.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul's message to the participants of the forum was read out as well.

In his message, Gul said Turkey supports the full realization of the Caspian Sea basin's full potentials.

"The existing cooperation mechanisms should be worked out, and activity models capable of bringing mutual benefits should be studied in order to realize the Caspian region's economic potential," the president said.

The Turkish president also called for speeding up the measures taken for settling the frozen conflicts in the region.

"The continuation of cooperation among all the international forces on securing peace is one of our major goals," the president noted.

Turkish president highlighted the existence of great opportunities for work in several areas, particularly in the fields of energy, trade, and transport.

"The TANAP project, which is currently being implemented by Azerbaijan, is one of the major projects which will ensure the transportation of gas from the Shah Deniz field to Europe," Gul said.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, which will be commissioned next year, is another important project of the region, the Turkish president said in his message.

Speaking at the event, Turkish Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said Azerbaijan and Turkey should strengthen cooperation in the energy sphere while there is an increasing demand for natural resources in Europe.

"With the implementation of Trans-Anatolian and Trans-Adriatic pipeline projects, a very serious chain will be created for the supply of natural gas from the Caspian basin to Europe," Yildiz said.

Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov said at the panel discussions that the implementation of the project on construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is a practical result of cooperation between Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, continues dynamically.

"After the start of the Marmaray project, launching the BTK will establish direct transport links between Europe and Asia," Mammadov said.

The minister went on to say a new international sea trade port in the Alat settlement in Baku is also under construction. Mammadov said there are plans to establish a large logistics center in the area as well.

"Upon completion of the first stage, it will be possible to transport 10 million tons of cargo and 50,000 large containers per year. At subsequent stages, the amount will increase to 25 million tons of dry cargo and one million tons of containers," Mammadov said.

The two-day forum is dedicated to mega-projects, in which Azerbaijan is participating as a member, as well as the role of the Southern Gas Corridor.

The event's agenda includes discussion of projects in the areas of energy, transport, and finance in the Caspian Sea region, as well as opportunities for future cooperation.

Azerbaijan's role in ensuring Europe's energy security will also be discussed at the event.

The Caspian Forum is a platform that explores the economic, political, and strategic potential of the Caspian region, and defines areas of collaboration and partnership with the spirit of the win-win principle. The theme of the Caspian Forum 2013 in Istanbul is "Defining the Caspian".

The Forum considers energy and transportation, among other issues, as the two main pillars of defining the Caspian. It will examine the region's energy resources, economic diversification, transportation projects, and security issues.

The forum will also focus on using chances to shape the visions and means of tackling the obstacles on the course of achieving a definition of a future-oriented Caspian region.

Organized by the Caspian Strategic Institute HASEN, the forum is attended by distinguished government officials, representatives from academia, businessmen, policy makers, NGOs, and media from all over the world.