SOCAR intends to expand presence in Romanian market

The Azerbaijan State Oil Company SOCAR has announced its intention to expand its presence in the Romanian market in the future. Report informs, citing the Romanian economy minister.

Economy Minister Florin Spataru met with Azerbaijani Ambassador to Romania Huseyn Najafov and SOCAR Petroleum General Manager Hamza Karimov.

"The most important Azerbaijani investments in Romania are SOCAR's investments in the amount of 64 million euros with a contribution to the state budget of Romania in the amount of about 114 million euros," said Hamza Karimov.

The meeting discussed the prospects for the development of economic relations between Romania and Azerbaijan in areas of mutual interest, with an emphasis on investments between the two countries. The Azerbaijani ambassador noted the need to deepen relations between the two countries, mainly in the field of construction, in which Romanian investors may be interested, as well as in the direction of implementing energy infrastructure development projects.

At the same time, the diplomat asked to organize a meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission in the first half of 2022 in order to establish new areas of cooperation and partnership between Romanian and Azerbaijani companies.

“The creation of the Azerbaijani-Romanian joint intergovernmental commission is a good opportunity to increase the trade balance between the two countries and give companies the opportunity to establish new partnerships and identify new investment opportunities. The task of the Ministry of Economy is to reindustrialize through microelectronics and the efficient use of natural resources. My goal is to increase the economic competitiveness of Romania through national value-added products that can then be sold in other markets such as Azerbaijan and other Caspian countries,” said Florin Spataru.

SOCAR has started its activities in the retail market of oil products in Romania since 2011. Currently, 66 gas stations under the SOCAR brand operate in 26 regions of Romania. To date, the company has created about 550 jobs in the country.