The 9th meeting of the Ministers and the 1st meeting of the Ministers of the Green Energy Consultative Council held today in Baku "Southern Gas Corridor and green energy Ministerial session", "Southern Gas Corridor": Affordable, stable and safe natural gas continued with plenary sessions on "Green energy: delivery of Caspian Sea wind energy to European energy markets".

"APA-Economics" informs that Azerbaijan's Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov, who delivered his opening speech at the ministerial session, said that the Green Energy Advisory Council, along with the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council, is a confirmation that green energy is a priority for us along with natural gas.

Emphasizing that Azerbaijan is a reliable strategic partner of regional countries and Europe in energy supply, the minister said that 2023 is a decisive year in our activities related to the transfer of both the Southern Gas Corridor and the green energy of the Caspian Sea to Europe: "In 2022, gas supply to Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor 11.4 billion

delivered to cubic meters.

We must speed up our decisions on investment in infrastructure and upstream to double gas supply to 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.

without wasting time, we need to consolidate the positions of all stakeholders and start widening the corridor with comprehensive diversification.

Today, the creation of the "green energy" corridor, the source of which is Azerbaijan, is also our strategic priority.

In December last year, with the political support of the European Commission, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary took a historic step to connect the Caspian Sea with Europe with green energy.

The transmission of 3-4 GW of "green energy" is being considered in the second stage along this route, which claims to be the "green energy" corridor of the 21st century.

"Our cooperation with foreign energy companies on more than 25 GW of green energy projects allows Azerbaijan to become an important and reliable partner supplying Europe with "green energy" and hydrogen in the near future."

The creation of the "green energy" corridor, the source of which is Azerbaijan, is also our strategic priority.

In December last year, with the political support of the European Commission, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary took a historic step to connect the Caspian Sea with Europe with green energy.

The transmission of 3-4 GW of "green energy" is being considered in the second stage along this route, which claims to be the "green energy" corridor of the 21st century.

"Our cooperation with foreign energy companies on more than 25 GW of green energy projects allows Azerbaijan to become an important and reliable partner supplying Europe with "green energy" and hydrogen in the near future."

The creation of the "green energy" corridor, the source of which is Azerbaijan, is also our strategic priority.

In December last year, with the political support of the European Commission, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary took a historic step to connect the Caspian Sea with Europe with green energy.

The transmission of 3-4 GW of "green energy" is being considered in the second stage along this route, which claims to be the "green energy" corridor of the 21st century.

"Our cooperation with foreign energy companies on more than 25 GW of green energy projects allows Azerbaijan to become an important and reliable partner supplying Europe with "green energy" and hydrogen in the near future."

Romania and Hungary have taken a historic step to connect the Caspian Sea with Europe with green energy.

The transmission of 3-4 GW of "green energy" is being considered in the second stage along this route, which claims to be the "green energy" corridor of the 21st century.

"Our cooperation with foreign energy companies on more than 25 GW of green energy projects allows Azerbaijan to become an important and reliable partner supplying Europe with "green energy" and hydrogen in the near future."

Romania and Hungary have taken a historic step to connect the Caspian Sea with Europe with green energy.

The transmission of 3-4 GW of "green energy" is being considered in the second stage along this route, which claims to be the "green energy" corridor of the 21st century.

"Our cooperation with foreign energy companies on more than 25 GW of green energy projects allows Azerbaijan to become an important and reliable partner supplying Europe with "green energy" and hydrogen in the near future."

Fatih Dönmez, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey, said in his speech: "It goes without saying that TANAP is a concrete example of our joint cooperation as the main pillar of the Southern Gas Corridor.

This corridor shows that a common goal can unite countries.

All these huge projects are efficiently implemented in close cooperation.

Implementation of this corridor and provision of commercial gas flow to Europe is an especially important step to achieve this goal.

We need additional reserves and additional source countries to increase gas volumes.

In this context, we are ready to develop cooperation with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan for the sake of the prosperity of our region."

Italian Minister of Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Picetto Fratin said: "The potential of the energy resources of the Caspian region plays an important role for our energy policy in the future.

Through new long-term supply contracts, we hope to increase the capacity of the Southern Gas Corridor to bring gas supplies to the EU to at least 20 billion cubic meters by 2027.

We believe that this is an important perspective not only for consumers or transit countries like Italy and Europe, but also for producing countries."

Laura Loxman, adviser to the US Deputy Secretary of State for energy diplomacy, noted in her speech that the US-Azerbaijani partnership will create a foundation for energy security through regional energy cooperation and the transition to clean energy.

Great Britain's regional ambassador for energy security and climate, David Moran, said: "We are proud of the transformative role played by bp and other British companies in the development of the Southern Gas Corridor and Azerbaijan, and we hope that this close cooperation will continue to diversify as Azerbaijan lays the foundations of a green economy."

The Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Romeo Mikautadze, expressed these views: "The Southern Gas Corridor is of particular importance for Europe as it is enabled by energy sources, thereby supporting the energy security of EU member countries and beyond. In addition, along the corridor, and has also initiated dynamic processes and partnerships of countries beyond its borders. Georgia is an active supporter of the Southern Gas Corridor, and the project is very important for Georgia to play the role of a bridge in terms of energy."

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijártó said: "The importance of Azerbaijan for Europe has increased due to the intense energy crisis.

Increasing the volume of natural gas produced in the South Caucasus is the most favorable option for diversification in the short and medium term.

Increasing the production of natural gas in Azerbaijan can play an important role for the energy security of Hungary and Central Europe, but this requires the development of infrastructure in the region, which requires the support of the EU.

We Hungarians hope that Azerbaijani gas will contribute to Hungary's energy security as soon as possible."

The Minister of Energy of Romania Virgil Daniel Popescu said: "The representation of Romania at the highest level in Baku by His Excellency Mr. Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania, as well as the Minister of Energy, confirms the country's support for the expansion plans of the CGD.

In the current period, the future development of such a valuable gas transportation infrastructure is of great importance for strengthening the energy security of South-Eastern and Central European countries, based on innovations, investments and open dialogue.

In this case, Romania will be a reliable partner that can be fully trusted in the future development of the Southern Gas Corridor."

Bulgarian Energy Minister Rossen Hristov noted in his speech that global challenges in the energy sector require comprehensive solutions and global efforts.

International projects and cooperation have become the most effective and efficient way to ensure gas supply to Europe in changing geopolitical conditions.

Bulgaria and Azerbaijan are partners that ensure Europe's energy security.

Alexandra Sdoukou, secretary general of the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy for energy and mineral resources, said: "TAP is a strategic infrastructure that strengthens the diversification of the EU's energy supply.

It also serves as a backbone pipeline that facilitates the development of connected network infrastructure.

I would like to emphasize our support for TAP's efforts to double its transmission capacity.

Greece in the near future, approx.

1 bln.m3 will be the buyer of Azerbaijan's gas, and other markets in Southeast Europe can benefit from TAP's increased transmission capacity."

Albania's Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Ilir Bejtja, said: "Albania is chairing the Energy Union in 2023.

Our goals for this year are: to become a leading country in diversifying energy production, based on constantly renewable sources, saving energy by increasing efficiency, developing gas infrastructure for gas supply of industry and energy sectors.

Albania's goal will be ecologically clean energy production."

According to Andrei Spinu, Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, it is now more important than ever to combine efforts in the field of energy and establish closer cooperation: "The energy crisis in Moldova and the increase in the price of natural gas in Europe have once again emphasized the importance of diversifying sources of natural gas supply.

Spanning six countries, this gas transportation system also helps diversify energy sources and supply in regions that previously had no access to natural gas."

Ervin Ibrahimovic, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Capital Investments of Montenegro, said: "In accordance with the European Green Energy Agreement and the energy policy of the European Union, we are committed to the transition to green energy, decarbonization, expanding the use of renewable energy sources and increasing energy efficiency, as well as connecting to the energy systems of neighboring countries. We plan to develop the energy sector through the construction of infrastructure facilities.

The implementation of the Ion-Adriatic Pipeline will be beneficial not only for Montenegro but also for the entire region."

Dubravka Djedovic, Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia expressed her position as follows: "Serbia is trying to be a part of this great value chain that supports energy security and economic development.

Serbia will diversify its supply routes by joining the Southern Gas Corridor.

We have recognized Azerbaijan as a gas supplier that can meet a third of our annual demand and as one of our main partners in diversifying our sources.

Discussions regarding the terms of supply of this energy source are being conducted in parallel with the construction of a gas junction in the direction of Serbia with a capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas, which we expect to be completed in the fall of this year.

We expect the first deliveries of gas in early 2023, but this also depends on the speed of commercial negotiations of all parties involved, and we hope that

Kristina Celic, general director of energy at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Croatia, said: "I would like to emphasize the importance of the Ion-Adriatic pipeline project, which is the main reason for my visit to Azerbaijan today.

This is an example of successful cooperation between four countries that will ensure gas supplies from the EU border to Southeast Europe, thanks to Azerbaijan's foresight in transporting gas to Europe."

In the session "Southern Gas Corridor: Expansion of affordable, stable and safe natural gas supply" reports of representatives of SOCAR, bp, Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company, TANAP, TAP, Asian Development Bank and World Bank on the Southern Gas Corridor project were presented.

In the session on "Green energy: the delivery of wind energy of the Caspian Sea to the European energy markets", attention was paid to the expansion of cooperation in the direction of "green" energy in the format of the Advisory Council. With the signing of the "Agreement on strategic partnership in the field of development and transmission", the basis of cooperation in a quadrilateral format was laid. However, the construction of a "green energy" bridge between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, Azerbaijan and Europe requires the formation of a wider "green international team". Because Southern Gas Like the corridor, this corridor will diversify energy supply and transit routes to the European Union and South-Eastern European countries.It will have the prospect of expanding to more European countries.

BOEMDA, SOCAR, Masdar, bp, ACWA Power, Fortescue Future Industries, WindEurope, SolarPower Europe, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank, European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation ( IFC), the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank presented presentations on the transition to green energy, investment and market perspectives on energy transition, projects implemented in the field of renewable energy.