site.btaAzerbaijan's President Aliyev on Natgas Supply to Bulgaria, Two-Way Trade, Green Energy

"Bulgaria is an important transit country for neighbouring countries that receive Azerbaijani gas via its territory," President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan told journalists here on Wednesday. In his words, ever more countries will avail themselves of this option.

The head of State spoke at a joint news conference with President Rumen Radev of Bulgaria, who is paying an official visit to Azerbaijan at Aliyev's invitation.

He emphasized that Bulgaria and Azerbaijan have been strategic partners since 2015, and bilateral relations have been making vigorous progress since then. "The political dialogue and commitment make it possible to expand Bulgarian-Azeri relations in all spheres of interest," he pointed out.

"The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria has been multiplying, and a main driver behind this increase is cooperation in the energy sector, Aliyev said, adding that the current level and future prospects of this partnership are "highly encouraging". "Azerbaijan's gas exports to Bulgaria are increasing year by year," the host pointed out, specifying that last year, Azerbaijan transported 1.25 billion cu m of gas to the Bulgarian market. By comparison, this figure was only 600 million cu m in 2022. The quantity supplied to Bulgaria in 2024 is expected to reach 1.5 billion cu m, which is approximately 50% of the country's natural gas consumption. 

"We have always pursued better results for strengthening the trade turnover and energy cooperation as a clear indication of our success," Aliyev said.

"Azerbaijan is actively engaged in extensive cooperation with partner countries, including Bulgaria, in the green energy cable project," the Azeri President said, referring to a project for laying a cable on the Black Sea bed for the transmission of green electricity. "The feasibility study, which is expected to be completed in a few months, will pave the way for the project to commence. Therefore, Azerbaijan aims not only to position itself as a supplier of oil and gas to the European market but also as a provider of green energy. The potential is substantial, and we will further discuss this at the end of the year during the COP29 conference," Aliyev told the joint news conference with his Bulgarian guest.