Energy Minister: Azerbaijan will be a country expanding its energy partnership with neighboring countries and Europe on many alternative sources

The Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov made opening speech at the 27th Baku Energy Forum. Speaking about the important role of Caspian oil and Gas exhibition - conference formed by the oil strategy of National Leader Heydar Aliyev in attracting global interest to the development of Azerbaijan as an oil and gas country for many years and promotion of its achievements to the world, as well as the successes of our country, which turned the Caspian into an energy center. It was noted that the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev's flexible and timely strategic decisions on energy, as in all issues, have provided examples of diversification, which guarantees a sustainable energy supply to the European and world markets. This policy is the result of the supply of Azerbaijani gas through the Southern Gas Corridor to European consumers in the most needed time. The Minister of Energy said that today Azerbaijani gas accounts for 13-90% of the total gas consumption of different countries: "29 bcm has been transported to Turkey and Europe via TANAP and TAP up to now, and 6.8 bcm of gas in 5 months of this year. It is expected that by the end of the year this figure will reach 16 billion cubic meters, and the export of Azerbaijani gas to Europe will exceed 10 billion cubic meters."

Noting that the global energy architecture has been redesigned in line with energy security and climate challenges, the Minister noted that green energy is the preferred source of diversification in energy supply. It was noted that such a synergy of energy security and decarbonization is the modern global trend that accelerates the green energy transition and turns it into a driver of energy independence. In a complex reality, the new solutions focus on the development of energy countries, as are netto-energy importers, where about 80 per cent of the world's population lives. The transformation of this traditional oil and gas platform into an energy forum is a manifestation of changes in the national energy sector.

Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said: "Today we can say that, transformative processes take place that will change the dynamics of the energy system of Azerbaijan. A completely different page opens in the energy history of the Caspian Sea. So, two days later we will sign a new contract on energy projects in Shusha, the Pearl of Karabakh. Such sustainable initiatives show the short-term international interest to the green energy course of the President of Azerbaijan, which sets renewable energy sources as a strategic priority in the country's development. This is an adequate reaction of investors to the call for the use of the rich renewable energy potential of the liberated territories in the green energy zone concept with zero emissions."

The center of Azerbaijan's transformation into a green growth country is Karabakh-East Zangazur as a green energy zone based on the use of fully renewable energy and  the Caspian Sea, which has a potential of wind energy of 157 GW, and these geostrategic places will also be the source of green energy exports from Azerbaijan. The export routes included the Zangazur corridor and new transmission lines planned over the Black Sea. Noting that Azerbaijan's green agenda, supported by multidisciplinary reforms in the energy sector, coincides with global development trends, the Minister said that Azerbaijan will be the country expanding energy partnership with neighboring countries and Europe on many alternative sources thanks to the export of gas, green energy and clean hydrogen to be saved ahead.

The Minister also took part in discussions on new opportunities and challanges in the changing world during the energy transition.