Joint venture on green energy development and transmission project was established between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania in Bucharest

The 8th Ministers/Steering Committee meeting on the implementation of the Agreement on a strategic partnership in the field of green energy development and transmission between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary was held in Bucharest, Romania. Azerbaijan was represented by Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, Romania by Energy Minister Sebastian-Ioan Burduja and Secretary General Mircea Abrudean, Georgia by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, and Hungary by Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjártó The representatives from Bulgaria, the European Commission, transmission system operators and CESI also attended at the meeting.

The meeting addressed the status of the feasibility study conducted by the CESI company, progress on establishing the Joint Venture, the fiber-optic component of the green energy corridor, and the potential integration of Bulgaria into the project and other directions.

Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov highlighted that the preliminary results of the feasibility study for the Caspian-Black Sea-European Green Energy Corridor will be presented at COP29 in Baku this November. He also offered recommendations to ensure the project's progress. The Minister also shared his views on the status of the project, its other components, the next steps to be taken, as well as the development of the green energy corridor to be built between the countries of Central Asia and Azerbaijan. "Today the signing of the founding documents for the Joint Venture, the project has entered a new phase.  The "Joint Enterprise - Green Energy Corridor Energy Company" will finance the feasibility study of the project, oversee project preparation and implementation, and manage measures entrusted by the participating countries. "Azerbaijan, the main resource of the green energy corridor, will be one of the main partners of European countries in the field of renewables,” the Minister said.

Following the discussions, the Shareholder Agreement was signed on establishing a Joint Venture in Bucharest between Azerbaijan’s Azerenergy, Georgia’s Georgia State Electrosystem, Romania’s Transelectrica, and Hungary’s MVM, and a Protocol on the outcomes of the meeting was signed.  The Joint Venture and the Working Group were tasked with accelerating processes with the consulting company to complete the feasibility study within the specified timeframe, preparing the Joint Venture’s action plan ahead of the next Ministerial Meeting, and initiating consultations on business models for the project. It was agreed that the leadership of the JV-Green Energy Corridor energy company should be based on rotation, as well as the tasks for the Fiber optic cable line (FOC) and the issues related to the integration of Bulgaria into the project should be included in the feasibility study of the Quadrilateral project.  In addition, in connection with the second list of projects of common and mutual interest (PCI/ PM), an agreement was reached on a collective application for status in the framework of the process initiated by the European Commission in September 2024. Support was also expressed for hosting a high-level event dedicated to the Project during the COP29 Climate Leaders Summit.

At the end, a briefing was held on the results of the Bucharest Meeting of Ministers.

It should be noted that the Agreement on Strategic Partnership between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary in the field of Development and Transmission of Green Energy was signed on 17 December 2022 in Bucharest.