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Azerbaijan’s exceptional role for Europe is not only related to its significant oil and gas reserve, said Claude Salhani, senior editor at Trend English Service.

He made the remarks during the 8th Caspian Oil and Gas Trading and Transportation Conference in Baku.

Today, the country located at the crossing of the largest transport roads is a gate for Europe to Asia and vice versa, said Salhani.

“The largest transport corridors run through Azerbaijan’s territory. The largest infrastructure transport projects are implemented in the country: the largest port is under construction in the Caspian Sea, main roads are being modernized,” he said.

Salhani further noted that Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad will play a key role in connecting Europe and Asia, adding that this road will connect the Caspian Sea with Europe through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

Today, Azerbaijan, which has the fame of an oil-producing country, is preparing for a very important process - ensuring the energy security of Europe, according to Salhani.

Azerbaijan’s gas will in the years to come be the only new gas source for the consumers in Europe and Baku is the initiator of this process, he added.

“Today, Azerbaijan has seven export oil and gas pipelines,” said the senior editor. “The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, a part of the Contract of the Century, signed in 1994, has been for many years the crown of the export strategy.”

However, Azerbaijan didn’t stop on the achieved, and began realizing the 21st century’s contract, involving gas exports from the Shah Deniz field, the creation of a branched gas pipelines network (including TANAP and TAP) worth a total of $45 billion, he added.

Azerbaijan’s revenues from oil and gas allowed it to resolve many social issues, almost overcome poverty and unemployment, to launch satellites and most importantly, to reduce dependence on the oil sector, according to Salhani.

“Today, around 70 percent of the country’s GDP accounts for the non-oil sector of the economy. The country took the path of renewing infrastructure, which it had inherited from the Soviet Union and this allowed to significantly reduce the risk of man-made disasters that have recently become very frequent in the former USSR countries,” said Salhani.

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