President Aliyev: By the end of this year, we plan to start gas supplies to Hungary and Slovakia

“In 2021, we delivered 8 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe. And this year, our target is 12,” said President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev as he addressed a signing ceremony of the “Memorandum of Understanding for encouraging cooperation among Bulgartransgaz (Bulgaria), Transgaz (Romania), FGSZ (Hungary), Eustream (Slovakia) and the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR)” in Sofia.

“Today, Azerbaijani gas is exported to Georgia, Türkiye, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, and starting from this year Romania. By the end of this year, if all necessary interconnectors are in place, we plan to start gas supplies to Hungary and Slovakia,” the head of state noted, according to Azertag.

The Greece-Bulgaria interconnector project made it possible to expand the European geography of Azerbaijan’s natural gas supplies. The project helps already to strengthen European energy security, Ilham Aliyev said.

Azerbaijani leader added: “One month ago, President Radev was our guest in Azerbaijan. So, this really demonstrates the level of cooperation between our countries. It demonstrates the dynamism of our political dialogue, and also demonstrates that Bulgaria and Azerbaijan are not only strategic partners, but also two friends.”

The MoU signed today, when implemented, will definitely strengthen energy security in Europe, and allow Azerbaijan to export more gas to many more European countries, said the head of state.

He noted that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of Europe not only in the area of energy, but also in many other areas.

“I'd like to inform you that with nine EU member states, Azerbaijan signed and adopted agreements or declarations on strategic partnership. So that means that one-third of member states of the EU are strategic partners of Azerbaijan, and this partnership has a very important future,” the President of Azerbaijan underlined.