site.btaEnergy Cooperation in Focus of Foreign Minister's Talks in Azerbaijan

Energy Cooperation in Focus of Foreign Minister's Talks in Azerbaijan

Baku/Sofia, May 13 (BTA) - Bulgarian Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov paid a one-day official visit to Azerbaijan, where he met with President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Mitov's ministry reported on Friday. The talks focused on bilateral cooperation, energy projects and EU-Azerbaijan relations.

Meeting with his counterpart, Mitov said Azerbaijan holds an important place among Bulgaria's foreign policy priorities. He expects that the implementation of energy projects and strategic EU energy initiatives will help promote bilateral economic contacts.

Mitov and Mammadyarov noted the large potential for bilateral cooperation in diversifying energy supplies, which is in line with the energy strategies of both Bulgaria and the EU. Mitov assured the Azeri Foreign Minister that Bulgaria supports the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor and views Azerbaijan as a leading factor and a guarantor for the success of the project.

Discussing the EU's relations with Azerbaijan, Mitov expressed support for their further development in the framework of the Eastern Partnership, including by signing a new agreement on cooperation.

During the session with President Aliyev, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister praised the President's position in favour of Azerbaijan's commitment to strategic EU initiatives, as expressed during Aliyev's visit to Bulgaria in March 2015. These initiatives include the Southern Gas Corridor, access to liquefied natural gas, north-south gas interconnectors, and the Vertical Gas Corridor.

The guest said Bulgaria's gateway location gives the country ample opportunities to diversify the sources and routes of its gas and oil supplies. The nation aspires to become a Balkan gas hub, he said, adding that the supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan and via the Southern Gas Corridor is a precondition for this strategic objective.

Both countries' governments prioritize the use of transnational multimodal transport and energy corridors between Europe and Asia, Mitov further said. Bulgaria supports the building of a railway transport corridor from China to Europe via Central Asia, including along the Baku-Tbilisi-Poti-Varna axis, he said.

Bulgaria is glad to cooperate with Azerbaijan in enhancing the transport potential of the Black Sea region and developing competitive transport infrastructure between Europe and Asia. Both sides in the talks expressed an interest in the building of a corridor linking the Persian Gulf with the Black Sea.

During his talks in Baku, Mitov called for an invigoration of bilateral trade and economic cooperation and noted the importance of contacts in education, science, culture and the protection of historical and cultural heritage.

The Foreign Minister reiterated Bulgaria's principled position that the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh could only be solved through peaceful negotiations mediated by the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and its co-chairs, assisted by the EU, and through active dialogue between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Mitov also talked with Azerbaijan's National Assembly Speaker Ogtay Asadov and laid a wreath at the tomb of former president Heydar Aliyev in Baku.