The Davos Economic Forum is one of the most convenient discussion platforms to show that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner to the whole world. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev touched on very important topics during his speech at the panel meeting on "Eurasian Middle Corridor: From path to Highway" held within the Davos World Economic Forum on January 19 and made important statements. He declared that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner.

 

During his speech, President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan has good relations with its neighbors Georgia and Turkey in the West, and with Central Asia in the East: "I think that one of the advantages of the Middle Corridor is that the countries participating in this huge project have good relations among themselves. I believe that this is one of the prerequisites for success in any multinational initiative. Azerbaijan has good relations with its neighbors Georgia and Turkey in the West, and Central Asia in the East. As we have a natural geographical connection between the West and the East, we have invested heavily in transport infrastructure over the years. All necessary infrastructure facilities in Azerbaijan are ready to accept more loads. "Our sea port with a loading capacity of 15 million tons will be expanded to 25 million tons, and funds have already been allocated for this."

 

 

The head of state also drew attention to the fact that the Armenian side did not respond to Azerbaijan's peace proposal: "This would be a very simple agreement based on the basic principles of international law. Commissioner Han's hint was that there is no Armenia here. He said that two countries of the South Caucasus are participating here, but there are three states there. I know who he means. But why is Armenia not here? Because the format of tripartite cooperation that we put forward together with Georgia was rejected by Armenia."

The head of our state said: "I appreciate the efforts of my friend Irakli Garibashvili." Under his auspices, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia was organized with the participation of the Georgian foreign minister. Our proposal was to organize a meeting of leaders in Georgia. Because historically, Georgia has been a country where all neighbors come together. However, Armenia is not ready for this. This is one of the potential risks."

The President of Azerbaijan noted that the region will be safer if the three countries of the Caucasus unite their efforts in issues such as energy, transport, security, stability and border delimitation.

 

 

One of the friendliest environments on a global scale is the relations and trilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, between Azerbaijan and Turkey, between Georgia and Turkey.

"I think one of the friendliest environments on a global scale is the relations and trilateral relations between Azerbaijan and Georgia, between Azerbaijan and Turkey, between Georgia and Turkey. By the way, we have several trilateral  cooperation formats. There was also a summit of leaders at the level of ministers of foreign affairs, defense, economy. We are already seeing the results. We have begun to see clearly that there is a need for balance here. Of course, we started with energy projects - there must be a balance between the producer, the transit country and the consumer. We managed to obtain a winning  situation and the balance of interests was maintained. In fact, the railway connections that we have established relatively recently, which we will now extend from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey to Europe, are due to the successful implementation of our oil and gas pipeline projects.

 

 

The potential for green energy is huge. The wind energy potential of the Caspian Sea is 157 gigawatts. Onshore potential is 27 gigawatts, with another 10 gigawatts in areas liberated from the war two years ago. Thus, there is a potential of about 200 gigawatts.

President Ilham Aliyev said: "Last December, we signed an agreement in Bucharest on the construction of a 4 gigawatt submarine cable that will stretch from Georgia to Romania. Currently, technical and economic justification is being carried out. As soon as it is ready, we will think about financing, and of course, the support of European financial institutions will be needed here."

 

 

In 2021, our export to Europe was a little over 8 billion cubic meters. This year it will be at least 11.6 billion cubic meters. Growth is quite rapid. The total export will be 24 billion cubic meters.

According to the memorandum of understanding signed between Azerbaijan and the European Union in the summer, we will double the supply by 2027. That is, the export to the European Union will be at least 20 billion cubic meters. For this, there should be more interconnectors in Europe. One of them - the Greece-Bulgaria Interconnector was commissioned at the end of last year. This allowed us to transport gas to Bulgaria, and from the beginning of the year to Romania.

 

 

The railway connection, which we created relatively later and now connects Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and extends to Europe, originated from the oil and gas pipeline projects, which we successfully implemented. I believe that the work on this side of the corridor has been completed, including that the transport infrastructure is in place.

The head of our state said that Azerbaijan has the largest fleet of 53 ships in the Caspian Sea. In addition, it is necessary to mention the ports of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as well as the countries of Central Asia with good railway connections. Thus, an executive committee or board consisting of the participating states - Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and European partners should be established.

 

 

Soon free zone in Baku next door to seaport to be inaugurated. We hope that the free trade zone will be a suitable place for manufacturing and investment for companies.

The head of state noted that improving the business environment is one of the main factors of success. Because all countries in the world, even the most developed ones, need additional investment. However, just the business environment is not enough. Relations between the countries create a rare situation - the highest level of friendship on a global scale. I mean Azerbaijan and Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey, Georgia and Turkey, as well as our trilateral relations.

Thus, President Ilham Aliyev once again declared through the international platform that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner and emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the region.