The 12th International Caspian Energy Forum has officially kicked off in Baku, organized by the Caspian Energy Club. The forum brings together key figures from Azerbaijan's energy sector and international companies to discuss vital topics surrounding the region's energy landscape, Azernews reports.

Among the notable speakers are Orkhan Zeynalov, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Umayra Taghiyeva, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, and Javid Abdullayev, Head of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources. Representatives from companies such as Masdar, Acwa Power, and SOCAR are also contributing to the discussions.

During the event Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) CJSC Emil Mammadov highlighted that Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) and China are discussing increasing the number of railway services to Europe.

"You know that for the past year we have been engaged in the maintenance issues of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) corridor. We have completed the work, focusing on the main operational and maintenance aspects, and the main link has been restored, which will operate from June 2024. Thanks to this, the transmission capacity of the line has increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons," he noted.

According to him, currently, BTK is the shortest and most convenient route for cargo transportation from Central Asian countries to Europe or Africa. "In terms of the connections between Azerbaijan and the Central Asian region of Turkey, this is the shortest land route, which enables not only traditional cargo transportation, but also continental rail supply. Also, we are discussing with our Chinese partners to increase the number of rail routes to Europe so that this will create an additional opportunity for China to enter the European market," he added.

In his online address to the forum participants, European Union Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, confirmed the EU’s commitment: "The European Union will provide financial and technical support to the implementation of 'green' energy corridor projects from the South Caucasus and Central Asia."

He emphasized the importance of these regions in implementing the energy and transport corridors that are crucial for the EU: "The European Union will provide financial and technical support to the implementation of 'green' energy corridor projects from these regions, and at the same time, it will support the development of the Middle Corridor within the framework of the European Union's TEN-T strategy."

Várhelyi also stressed the importance of increasing Azerbaijan's gas supply to Europe, in light of declining supplies from Russia, and shared his high expectations for the upcoming COP29 summit in Baku, noting that "this climate summit will help to make progress on clean and renewable energy projects."

It's noteworthy that last year Tbilisi (Georgia) hosted the 11th Caspian Energy Investment Forum on February 20, 2023, jointly organized by the Caspian Energy Club and Caspian Energy Georgia. The official support for the event was provided by the embassies of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Georgia and Georgia in Azerbaijan. Assistant Tour was the golden sponsor of the forum.