Investment and energy issues were discussed in Kiev

On January 30, “Ukraine - Azerbaijan” round table and the next meeting of the “Azerbaijan-Ukraine Working Group on Energy Cooperation” were held in Kiev.

The Azerbaijani delegation first visited the monument erected to National Leader Heydar Aliyev in Kiev.

Then a round table was held with the participation of 20 companies from both countries specializing in different fields. Speaking at the round table, Parviz Shahbazov, the Minister of Energy and co-chair of the comission said that the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr  Zelensky in December last year and a business forum with the participation of  almost 200 companies contributed to the development of economic relations and participation of companies in mutual investment projects.

“The current level of political relations based on friendship between Azerbaijan and Ukraine is also the basis for the successful development of economic relations. Ukraine has already invested 25.4 million USD in the Azerbaijani economy, and Azerbaijan has invested 1.1 billion USD in the Ukrainian economy. Today's meeting will contribute to further growth of these indicators”.

Vladislav Krykliy, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the co-chair of the comission, dynamic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Ukraine in political and economic fields is continuing. He said that both countries are interested in joint projects on energy, industry and agriculture: “The Azerbaijani delegation visited Odessa and the oil refinery there just before Kiev. I think Azerbaijan can use alternative ways to transport oil and gas products through Ukraine. Azerbaijani companies have extensive experience in building road infrastructure. Therefore, I invite Azerbaijani companies to participate in the reconstruction of Ukrainian roads”.

Information on the course of multilateral reforms under the leadership of the President of Azerbaijan to improve the business environment in the country was given at the event. Proposals for investment cooperation were discussed in Ukraine.

Then the next meeting of the “Azerbaijan-Ukraine Working Group on Energy Cooperation” was held with the participation of energy ministers of both countries, Parviz Shahbazov and Oleksiy Orzhel. The Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov shared his thoughts on the modern role of Azerbaijan in ensuring global energy security and new opportunities for the development of energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Ukraine. It was noted that over 1.9 million tons of Azerbaijani oil was transported to Ukraine over the past three years. At the same time, during this period “SOCAR Trading SA” company supplied crude oil and oil and gas products from various origins to Ukraine. Investment of more than 300 million USD by “SOCAR Energy Ukraine” company and the extensive activities of the company were mentioned as positive points. It has been stressed that signing “Memorandum of Understanding between Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine” will positively effect future improvement of energy cooperation.

The Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine Oleksiy Orzhel spoke about potential directions for cooperation with Azerbaijan in the field of energy. Oleksiy Orzhel said that Ukraine is interested in investing in Azerbaijani energy companies.  Azerbaijani oil and gas products can also be supplied to European markets through Ukraine.

Protocol on the outcomes of the meeting has been signed and it has been decided next meeting of the Working Group will be held in Baku in 2021.