The first meeting of the Working Group on Economic, Industrial and Technological Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Albania was held

The first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Albania Working Group on Economic, Industrial and Technological cooperation was held in Tirana, Albania.

Before the meeting, a bilateral meeting was held between the co–chairs of the Working Group, Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov and Deputy Prime Minister of Albania-Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku. The sides exchanged views on the development of cooperation between the two countries in various fields.

At the meeting of the Working Group, the role of Heads of State in the development of relations between countries, in particular, the state visit of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev to Albania and the importance of the visits of the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama were discussed. The joint activity within the Working Group and the plan to increase this format of cooperation to the status of an Intergovernmental Commission, the political decision on the launch of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tirana were noted as a manifestation of the intention to deepen Azerbaijani-Albanian relations.

Parviz Shahbazov noted that Azerbaijan and Albania are participants in the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP) project, which plays a strategic role in diversifying the energy supply of European countries and ensuring energy security. The expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor, the creation of a local gas distribution system with the support of Azerbaijan will increase Albania's benefits from TAP: "The gasification project for the city of Korçë is at the preliminary feasibility stage. If the gas network is built, not only will the country's energy balance be diversified, but we will also jointly participate in strengthening the energy security of the Balkan region. Intensive consultations are also underway on several new projects that will contribute to the activities of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in Albania and energy cooperation between the two countries.”

Deputy Prime Minister of Albania - Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, co-chair of the working group Bellinda Balluku said that this year the countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and they are determined to strengthen the strategic partnership. "Today we have identified many areas of potential cooperation. Among these areas, energy is of particular interest to both countries.

We had discussions on how to enhance collaboration in the fields of energy, agriculture, trade and investments, tourism, culture, education. Albanian companies have been invited to cooperate in Karabakh and East Zangezur, Alat Free Economic Zone and green energy projects. The sides decided to establish an intergovernmental commission on the basis of the working group. A protocol was signed on the outcomes of the meeting.