By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen has said that Azerbaijan is Europe's key partner in its efforts to move away from Russian fossil fuels, Azernews reports.

She emphasized that with the new memorandum of understanding [ed: memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in the energy field between Azerbaijan and EU], Europe and Azerbaijan are opening a new chapter in their energy cooperation.

"Not only are we looking to strengthen our existing partnership which guarantees stable and reliable gas supplies to the EU via the Southern Gas Corridor. We are also laying the foundations of a long-term partnership on energy efficiency and clean energy, as we both pursue the objectives of the Paris Agreement," she said.

President von der Leyen added that energy is only one of the areas where bilateral cooperation can be enhanced.

"But energy is only one of the areas where we can enhance our cooperation with Azerbaijan and I look forward to tapping the full potential of our relationship," she said.

On July 19, Azerbaijan and the European Commission signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation in the energy field. The document was signed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Currently, the EU and Azerbaijan are also negotiating a new comprehensive agreement, which will allow for enhanced cooperation in a wide range of areas, including economic diversification, investment, trade, and making full use of the potential of civil society, while underscoring the importance of human rights and rule of law.

The EU and Azerbaijan have cooperation in different sectors of the economy. The EU invested over $21.5 billion in Azerbaijan’s economy from 2012 to 2021. Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with the EU amounted to $9.3 billion last year, which is 38 percent of the country’s foreign trade.

Azerbaijan started commercial gas supplies to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) on December 31, 2020. The EU-Azerbaijan energy cooperation has reached a new level and is still ongoing within the framework of the Southern Gas Corridor. The EU places a high value on energy supply diversification, and the Southern Gas Corridor is particularly important in this regard.