Foreign Policy Institute: Azerbaijan, Serbia have limitless opportunities for broader ties

The visit of President Ilham Aliyev to Belgrade on November 23 will open a new page in the relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia. One of the major outcomes of the visit was the signing of documents in various spheres. In particular, a "Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of Strategic Partnership Council between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Serbia"; "Memorandum of Understanding between the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Serbia Development Agency"; "Memorandum of Understanding between the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan - AZPROMO and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry" and other documents were signed. The signing of these and other bilateral agreements will give an additional impetus to the further development of cooperation between the two countries in various fields of economy and will bring relations to a new level. Moreover, the sides paid special attention to the development of cooperation in the energy sector.

Head of the Center for Eurasian Studies of the Institute for International Politics and Economy Dusan Prorokovic told Trend on November 24 that the emphasis on the productive relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia will now mainly shift to energy cooperation.

"Energy cooperation is in the first place now. On the one hand, there is an idea of a joint project, which envisages that Serbia will import gas from Azerbaijan, then produce electricity using gas power plants, selling it on the EU market. On the other hand, Serbia is interested in importing Azerbaijani oil," the expert said.

The South Gas Corridor acts as an alternative route for gas deliveries to Serbia, he said.

"Over the last eight months, there has been a lot of talk in Europe about Azerbaijani gas. All European countries are interested in buying Azerbaijani gas. Serbia is only one of them," he said.

At the same time, green energy is also among the promising areas of cooperation between the two countries, said Prorokovic.

"Azerbaijani companies are developing green technologies. According to the same model as with gas, it is possible to produce green energy in Serbia and sell it in the EU market," he explained.

Thus, the expert believes that there are always opportunities for the development of cooperation.

Today Azerbaijan creates new economic opportunities not only for the regional countries but also for its European partners. Azerbaijan is highly regarded as a reliable partner. Good political and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia will lead to further development, an increase in trade turnover, and the launch of new joint projects.