Envoy: Lithuania can provide Azerbaijan with renewable energy technologies

Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Egidijus Navikas has said that Lithuania can provide renewable energy technology to Azerbaijan.

Navikas made the remarks in an exclusive interview with Trend.

"Negotiations on energy cooperation have taken place before. Here, geography, as well as technical possibilities, are primarily taken into account. The idea of gas swaps is being discussed. But there is a need for dialogue between the business partners, who will go into the technical details. These discussions will continue. In addition, Lithuania is very interested in renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan, as we are becoming exporters of solar and wind energy technologies. I think that our business will make proposals to the Azerbaijani side in this area," he said.

Navikas noted that relations between Azerbaijan and Lithuania are at a high level in all spheres.

"Speaking of relations on the political plane, Lithuania has always supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Visits and meetings are regularly conducted, this spring was productive in this regard. Recently there was a ministerial visit, now there is a visit at the level of the President. Contacts on the highest level give impetus to the development of relations in other areas as well," he said.

The ambassador is convinced that much remains to be done in the economic dimension of the relationship.

"We have made progress in trade turnover; it has increased in the last couple of years. But there is still great potential in this sphere. The Azerbaijan-Lithuania Business Forum will be held in Vilnius, where quite a significant number of businessmen from both countries will take part. We continue to participate actively in various projects with Azerbaijan, especially in twinning projects. We had 17 twinning projects, 12 of which have already been implemented. Five of them are still ongoing," he said.

Speaking about the changing transport map of Eurasia, Navikas noted that Lithuania and the whole EU support the Middle Corridor, especially in the current context of geopolitical processes.

"This is an absolute priority. For Central Asia and other Asian countries, this route is becoming increasingly important. Lithuanian business is also interested in Baku port and Azerbaijani business is looking at the opportunities of Klaipeda port. The port of Klaipeda provides opportunities for Azerbaijani business as it is one of the non-freezing ports on the Baltic Sea. In this context, exporting to EU markets via Lithuania is a good option," he concluded.

To recap, as part of his recent visit to Vilnius, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and senior Lithuanian officials discussed a wide range of issues, including cooperation in renewable energy, cybersecurity, economy and transport. Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan's strategic partnership with Lithuania.