We have a very active phase of relationship between European Commission and Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said during a joint press statement with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Trend's special correspondent reports.
Statement by President Ilham Aliyev
- Dear Madame President, dear guests, ladies and gentlemen,
First of all, Madame President, welcome to Azerbaijan. I'm very glad to see you again. We met twice last year, on the margins of the European Political Community Summits, in May and October, and had broad discussions on our bilateral agenda and many other issues.
We, by the way, have a very active phase of the relationship between the European Commission and Azerbaijan. This year, we hosted the President of the European Council, Mr. Costa, in March, and then in May we hosted the head of European diplomacy, Madame Kallas, and today the President of the European Commission.
So I would say this is unprecedented dynamism in our relationship, which reflects the mutual will of both sides to intensify our cooperation and to strengthen our partnership. We highly value the relationship with the European Commission, and today, with Madame President and the delegations, we broadly discussed a very impressive agenda.
The European Union is Azerbaijan's main trading partner. More than 40% of our trade is with the member states, and for the European Union, Azerbaijan is the main trading partner in the South Caucasus. Almost 70% of trade in the South Caucasus is trade with Azerbaijan. Of course, we broadly discussed our cooperation in the field of energy, and the visit of Madame President four years ago to Azerbaijan was also very important.
From this point of view, we signed the MoU on Strategic Partnership in the energy field, and since that time Azerbaijan's natural gas export to the European Union member states has increased by almost 65%. Today, half of our gas export goes to the member states of the European Union, and in total, 10 member states of the European Union are recipients of Azerbaijani gas, with the potential to expand this geography.
Energy security for every country is today a very important factor of national security, and Azerbaijan has invested a lot of its political efforts, diplomatic activity, and also financial investments in building infrastructure for the transportation of our oil and gas. The Southern Gas Corridor is a remarkable example of our common activity. The 3,500 kilometers of integrated pipeline systems today are the main artery for the transportation of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe.
Connectivity definitely was one of the important parts of our discussions. Azerbaijan is an active participant and, in many cases, an initiator of the regional transportation projects. The East-West and North-South transportation corridors cross Azerbaijan, and having good relations with our neighbors and the neighbors of our neighbors has allowed us to establish a very broad cooperation format, which is to the benefit of all the actors.
Today, the volume of cargo through Azerbaijan in all directions is growing. We invested largely in transportation infrastructure in Azerbaijan and in the neighborhood, and are continuing to do it. And with respect to the new geopolitical situation, we see that there is a need to expand the capacity of our trade sea ports and of our railroad infrastructure. We are doing all of that in line with the schedule and with our own financial resources.
A relatively new part of our relationship with the European Commission is renewables. We also largely discussed it with Madame President, including the potential of Azerbaijan in solar, wind, and hydropower, and the existing transmission lines, as well as those to be built. We can also become strategic partners from this point of view.
I informed Madame President that the contracts with foreign and local companies signed so far will allow us to have eight gigawatts of solar and wind energy over the next five to six years. This is only what has been signed, which is a contractual commitment. But definitely there'll be more.
Of course, we also discussed the regional security issues at length, especially the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is progressing successfully. Last August in Washington, at the White House, in the presence of President Trump, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed the Joint Declaration. President Trump also signed it as a witness, and Armenia and Azerbaijan also initialed the text of the peace agreement. So, de facto, peace is done, and we see the benefits.
We have taken many unilateral steps in order to demonstrate that peace is not only on paper, but that we can feel it in day-to-day life. Azerbaijan lifted all the restrictions on the transit of goods through its territory to Armenia. Those restrictions were imposed because of the occupation of our internationally recognized territories by Armenia. We also started to supply Armenia with critical fuels, particularly gasoline and diesel. In today's geopolitical situation, this has even bigger importance than ever before.
So, we are demonstrating that, for us, peace is something we can already touch, we can feel, and we are learning to live in peace. We lived under occupation for 30 years, and we restored our sovereignty and territorial integrity ourselves by force and by political means. And we offered peace to Armenia.
So now peace is a reality, but we must work hard in order to strengthen it, to make it long-lasting, to make it eternal, and, of course, we highly appreciate the support of the European Commission.
Madame President also informed me that the European Commission can and wants to be very helpful. And we appreciate any help, any assistance from this point of view. And I think that this will strengthen the dynamism in the region and will allow the South Caucasus to be an area free from any territorial claims, any conflicts, and an area of partnership, cooperation, and peace.
Once again, Madame President, welcome to Azerbaijan. We wish you a pleasant stay.
