The relationship between Ukrainian and Azerbaijani companies has a long history that began well before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This strong foundation positions Azerbaijani firms for significant opportunities in Ukraine's energy market, according to Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, head of Ukraine's national energy company Ukrenegro.
"Even before the war, Ukrenegro collaborated with various companies on the supply of equipment, transformers, and electrical products," Kudrytskyi told Report's Eastern European bureau. "We interacted with your companies through international projects, so for us, Azerbaijani companies and businesses are long-standing partners.
Kudrytskyi noted that the most challenging period after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion was 2022-2023. "To provide the population with electricity, we received significant humanitarian aid from Azerbaijan. Your country's government and companies supported the Ukrainian people. We are very grateful to Azerbaijan for this," he emphasized.
Looking ahead, Kudrytskyi believes that after the war, Ukraine's market will be the largest reconstruction market on the continent for decades. There will be room for a wide variety of companies, including manufacturers of electrical and other equipment and materials. "We expect Azerbaijan's participation in Ukraine's energy sector, and that your country will become an active participant in the restoration of energy," he stated, referring not only to traditional generation, networks and substations, but also renewable energy sources.
The Ukrenegro head also highlighted that Ukraine and Azerbaijan have fairly unique manufacturing enterprises for the production of autotransformer equipment, which Ukraine has a great need for. The development of green energy in Europe has led to large investments in networks, giving countries with such production technologies a major advantage.
"I think cooperation in this area would be interesting for our companies," Kudrytskyi concluded.