Azernews.Az

Switzerland is seeking to buy gas from Azerbaijan, a resource-rich South Caucasus republic that is seen as a key player in European energy security.
Talks on gas exports will be held with officials during Swiss Confederation President Pascal Couchepin's visit to Baku due May 10-13, the Azerbaijani ambassador in Geneva, Elchin Amirbayov, said.
Amirbayov said Switzerland was considering a variety of alternatives for diversifying its energy supplies to ensure its energy security in the future. One of the options is the project on the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that will stretch from Greece to Italy through Albania. Switzerland is also interested in importing gas from the Central Asia and Caspian regions and plans to deliver it via Turkey, Albania and other countries.
Swiss EGL company will build the pipeline jointly with Norwegian giant StatoilHydro. The two companies will hold equal shares in the project. Construction operations are due to begin in the second half of 2009, while first gas is to be pumped through the conduit in 2012. TAP's annual throughout capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters and could double in the future.
Geneva has already held talks on gas imports with Iran and now intends to discuss the issue with the Azeri government.
The issue was previously raised at a meeting of the Azerbaijani and Swiss leaders on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in January, which was preceded by discussions during a visit by the Swiss energy minister to Azerbaijan.