First meeting of Ministers of Energy of Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States was held

On February 24, the 1st Meeting of the Ministers of Energy of the Turkic Council was held. High-level representatives from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Hungary participated in video conference hosted by Azerbaijan.
The event started with opening remarks by Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov and Secretary General of Turkic Council Baghdad Amreyev. Chairing the meeting, the minister said that the expansion of political and economic relations with the Turkic-speaking states is one of the priority directions of the state policy laid down by the National Leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev and expediently continued by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev. The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States is successfully developing as an influential, multilateral format of cooperation and Azerbaijan contributes to the development of this cooperation from the humanitarian to the multifaceted economic level: “The trade turnover of Azerbaijan with the Member States of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States increased 3.5 times in 2020 compared to 2009 and reached 4.4 billion USD. The share of the council member states in foreign trade of Azerbaijan made up 17.9 per cent. These countries invested 13 billion USD in the Azerbaijani economy in 1995-2020. Azerbaijan invested 18.3 billion USD in the ecenomy of member states."
Minister Parviz Shahbazov said that Azerbaijan-Turkey relations, which are at a high level in the energy sector, as in all spheres, play a key role for the energy cooperation model in the format of the Turkish Council: “So far, more than 431 million tons of Azerbaijani oil has been transported to Turkey and world markets via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. 79 bcm gas has been transported to Turkey through the gas pipelines so far. At the same time, thanks to these projects, part of the energy resources of our partners from Central Asia are transported to the world markets through Azerbaijan.“
it was noted that despite the fact that Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the organization coincided with a difficult period, it was remembered with exemplary solidarity and fruitful mutual activity. It was noted that the Turkish Council was the organization that supported Azerbaijan the most during the 44-day Motherland war. Participation of the companies of the member countries of Turkic Council in the restoration of the liberated territories, as well as in the process of turning Karabakh into a “green energy” zone, was brought to the attention as opportunities to deepen cooperation. 
The Secretary General of the organization, Baghdad Amreyev, said that energy cooperation is of strategic importance for the Turkic Council member states and promotion of effective regional and bilateral cooperation in this direction is one of the main goals and objectives of the organization. Talking about exemplary cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey in various fields, including energy, he noted that the Southern Gas Corridor opens opportunities for future successful cooperation.
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nogayev, Deputy Minister of Energy and Industry of Kyrgyzstan Veronika Isayeva, Adviser on science and innovation of the Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Aziz Alimuhamadov and Hungarian Ambassador-at-large for energy and climate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Dora Zombori made a speech at the meeting. 
At the ministerial meeting, the first meeting report of the Energy Working Group, held on 23 February, was reviewed, the opportunities for cooperation in the field of development and diversification of energy routes, strengthening of interregional relations in the production and supply of energy resources and petrochemical products, improving the investment climate for the development of renewable energy sources and advanced technologies in the oil and gas sector and the opportunities of cooperation on the exchange of practices on energy efficiency were discussed. At the same time, it was proposed to establish a joint training centre in the field of energy and to hold events to exchange practices.
It should be reminded that Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan are members of the Turkic Council. Hungary is an observer state. The chairmanship of the Turkic Council passed from Kyrgyzstan to Azerbaijan at the 7th Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States held in Baku on October 15, 2019.