Lithuanian President’s expectation is that one day Azerbaijani gas will reach his country - president’s office

By Trend

Lithuanian President’s expectation is that one day Azerbaijani gas will reach his country, the office of Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told Trend on the occasion of his visit to Baku.

“The war in Ukraine was an emergency call for Europe to diversify the supply of energy resources. As the EU strives to end its fossil fuel dependency on Russia, there is a strong interest of the EU member states to strengthen energy cooperation with alternative energy suppliers and diversify its sources of supply, including obtaining larger amounts of natural gas from Azerbaijan. We appreciate Azerbaijan as a reliable partner for the EU in the energy sector. President’s expectation is that one day Azerbaijani gas will reach Lithuania. President presumes this given Lithuania’s freshly new gas pipeline linking Lithuania and the Baltics to the European gas network (GIPL), Lithuania’s LNG terminal capacities, Azerbaijan’s interconnections with the European Union by gas pipelines, and our goals to deepen cooperation,” said the president’s office.

Naus?da’s press service noted that given Azerbaijan’s role in global trade, wider investment opportunities within the logistics sector emerge.

“Lithuania has a well-developed sector of renewable energy. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has a potential to increase the supply of energy resources to the European Union, including to Lithuania. We are aware that Azerbaijan aims to increase the share of renewables in its total energy production. Lithuania has strong positions in developing the renewable energy sector, especially solar energy generation. Lithuanian companies can offer high quality solar modules based on high efficiency and durability. In addition, green growth goes hand in hand with smart solutions. Lithuania’s potential in smart solutions broadens cooperation possibilities,” said the president’s press service.

The presidential office noted that Azerbaijan is a very important partner for Lithuania in the Caucasus region.

“Our interest remains to further develop bilateral ties in the spirit of the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership of 13 September 2007. Lithuania, as EU and NATO member, is looking forward to boosting bilateral cooperation in many fields: economic, cultural, and education. In Azerbaijan the President will be accompanied by a numerous business delegation. Lithuanian businesses show great interest in boosting bilateral trade with Azerbaijan, especially in ICT, innovations, transport and logistics, and energy sectors. The education sector representatives will be also accompanying the President. Lithuanian university rectors will seek to boost cooperation in the higher education field. Azerbaijan is an important partner for the whole EU. We are looking forward to progress in the negotiations on the new EU-Azerbaijan agreement. This agreement will allow to boost economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and EU member states in many fields. The main priorities for bilateral cooperation lie in economic, trade cooperation, energy, transport sectors, and the field of education. While Lithuania is interested in diversifying imports of natural energy resources, Azerbaijan’s interest lies in imports of food products, where our business has a lot to offer. Lithuania also has a lot to offer in the fields of the innovative and high-tech sectors, information technologies and renewable energy development,” said Naus?da’s office.

The president’s office noted that due to strong partnership and successful projects in the past, Lithuania is willing to see Azerbaijan as a strong partner in higher education.

“We are looking for possibilities to establish double/joint degree study programs with Azerbaijani universities and to search for state-level partnerships regarding specialist training and retraining opportunities that may be offered by our higher education institutions. Lithuania is seeking to diversify natural gas import and cooperation with Azerbaijan in this field could be more intensive. Thus, prospects and possibilities for our two nations in the energy sphere must be explored.Until the present day, Lithuanian and Azerbaijani economic relations were not very intensive. The trade turnover is just above 50 million euros. Lithuanian investments in your country are moderate. Cooperation in transport and logistics between our countries has great potential. Lithuania, as an EU country with a well-developed road, rail, intermodal, and seaport infrastructure and services – offers a beneficial logistics entry to the EU market. Lithuania is keen to explore the potential of the TRACECA (Europe-Caucasus-Asia) transport corridor. It offers a unique opportunity to develop the Trans-Caspian railway corridor as a viable alternative to the existing routes from Asia to Europe,” said Nauseda’s office.