Bulgarian envoy presents his credentials to Azerbaijani top official

Bulgaria’s newly appointed Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ruslan Stoyanov presented Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov with a copy of his credentials.

Congratulating the diplomat on his appointment and wishing him success in his work, Bayramov expressed satisfaction with the bilateral relations between the two countries in various spheres such as politics, economics, and energy.

The Azerbaijani official stressed that the current political dialogue and high-level contacts between the two countries play an important role in the development of relations, particularly mentioning the importance of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB).

The sides highlighted the importance of Azerbaijan in ensuring the energy security of Europe and diversifying the energy supply.

In turn, the ambassador expressed satisfaction with the appointment to Azerbaijan and noted that there is a mutually beneficial agenda for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria at the bilateral and multilateral levels. He stressed that he would make every effort to further develop cooperation in various fields.

The IGB gas pipeline is designed to connect the Greek national gas transmission system (DESFA S.A.) and the Trans-Adriatic gas pipeline (TAP AG) in the area of Komotini (Greece), with the Bulgarian gas transmission system (Bulgartransgaz EAD) in the area of Stara Zagora. The total length of the gas pipeline is 182 km, and the diameter of the pipe is 32”.

The pipeline is designed to increase its capacity up to 5 bcm/y depending on market interest and the capacities of neighboring gas transmission systems. Currently, the total capacity of IGB is 3 billion cubic meters per year, with 1.57 billion cubic meters already booked under long-term contracts lasting up to 25 years. Available capacity is successfully being auctioned on the European platforms PRISMA and RBP.

The opening ceremony of the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria was held in Komotini on July 8, while a ceremony to inaugurate the (IGB) was held in Bulgaria on October 1.