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Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said that Azerbaijan hails Spain’s growing interest in the Southern Gas Corridor project, Azernews reports.
Bayramov made the remarks in an interview with EFE Comunicación, Spain’s leading information agency as part of his official visit to the country.
“Azerbaijan has been a long-time, reliable partner for Europe as an oil and oil products supplier, and Spain is among the top ten countries buying crude oil from Azerbaijan,” the minister said.
He emphasized that Azerbaijan’s role as a trustworthy energy partner to Europe has grown with the completion of the 3,500-km-long Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) in early 2021.
The minister underlined that Azerbaijan considers Spain a good partner in the SGC project, underlining the participation of the Spanish Enagas energy company in the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) with a 16 percent stake.
Referring to the Memorandum of Understanding, signed between Azerbaijan and the EU on the strategic energy partnership on July 18 in Baku, Bayramov stressed that the agreement will double Azerbaijan’s gas export to Europe.
“This agreement has several important elements, one of which is the increase in Azerbaijan’s gas supplies to the European market over the next five years that will double and grow from 10 to 20 billion cubic meters of gas,” he said.
Furthermore, the top diplomat said that Azerbaijan and Spain are holding extensive discussions on expanding their renewable energy cooperation.
“Azerbaijan has the potential in supplying green electricity to the EU. Our countries can establish very specific and tangible cooperation in this sector. Spain is well known for its green technologies,” Bayramov stressed.
The minister underlined that one of the key topics of discussion during his visit to Spain was the engagement of Spanish firms in renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan.
He also commented on the two nations’ cooperation opportunities in the energy sector, as well as Spain’s interest in and commitment to the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC).
“Azerbaijan has been a long-time, reliable partner for Europe as an oil and oil products supplier, and Spain is among the top ten countries buying crude oil from Azerbaijan,” the minister said.
Speaking on the post-conflict normalization process in the region following the second Karabakh war in 2020, Bayramov highlighted that the situation remains complicated.
“We hope that Armenia will respect its obligations and we believe that there is no other possibility to turn the page, normalize relations and make them good-neighborly, of course, but for this, one must fulfill the obligations and at the same time, respect international law,” Bayramov emphasized.
By Vugar Khalilov
