Cooperation with the Persian Gulf countries is one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV channel, Report informs via AZERTAC.
"With respect to energy, yes, you're right. Our main destination for natural gas is Europe. We provide gas to ten European countries, eight of which are EU members. For these countries, Azerbaijani gas plays an important role in energy security, and this role will continue to grow. I have already publicly announced our plans for the coming years. By 2030, we will have guaranteed additional 8 billion cubic meters of natural gas, plus to what we have today. And the question is, how to use it and in which direction," the head of state said.
He noted that entering the Middle East with our natural resources is a first experience for us.
"We think that, as I already said, we can increase the volume of gas to Syria, and also provide gas supplies to other countries through the Arabian Gas Pipeline or through other means, such as swaps. We are also trading energy resources. We are not only selling our own oil and gas, but also working as an international trader. So our potential is bigger than one can imagine. From this point of view, I think it is an important factor," the Azerbaijani leader said.
He noted that with respect to relations with Middle Eastern countries, primarily with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, they are very good, very friendly, and very result-oriented. We have a strong partnership with these countries.
"By the way, our main investors in renewable energy are companies from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. They are already investing now. And our renewable potential should not be underestimated. By 2030, based on signed contracts and investments primarily from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and China, we plan to have six gigawatts of solar and wind energy.
We are also actively building hydro power stations in Karabakh; almost 300 megawatts have already been created. This is an important part of relations between Azerbaijan and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, because we have fossil fuels and are also working actively on renewables. Together, we can carry out many good projects. For example, ADNOC, a very important energy company from the UAE, became a shareholder in one of our biggest gas fields in the Caspian. At the same time, our state company SOCAR became a shareholder in one of the oil development projects in the UAE. We are now in the active phase of working on a broad investment portfolio. Political relations are excellent. So we are focusing on practical investment projects in energy and not only in energy, but also in hospitality, tourism, and agriculture. Many projects are in the pipeline. For instance, one of the leading companies of Saudi Arabia was selected by us as a partner in building a desalination plant on the Caspian shore, which will provide many opportunities for agriculture and for people.
This is a big part of our foreign policy agenda—one of the main priorities of our foreign policy—cooperation with the Gulf countries," Ilham Aliyev noted.