Deepening economic relations remains high on the agenda of Azerbaijani, Romanian governments

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and Romania's Energy Minister Virgil Daniel Popescu have discussed the development of economic relations, Azernews reports, citing the Economy Ministry.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the development of partnerships in such areas as energy, transport, trade, as well as SOCAR's activities in Romania. The sides invited Romanian companies for active cooperation with their Azerbaijani counterparts.

They also discussed various areas of the economy, including strengthening cooperation in the oil and gas sector and other issues of mutual interest.

Virgil Daniel Popescu is on a visit to Azerbaijan to attend the Baku Energy Week. Earlier he also held a meeting with Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov.

At a meeting, the Azerbaijani minister looked into issues of supplying natural gas and oil, as well as the Black Sea submarine power and digital connectivity project between Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Romania. In this regard, they discussed the possibility of exporting green energy to Europe at the expense of the huge wind energy potential of the Caspian Sea through this project. Shahbazov emphasized that the use of wind energy in the Caspian Sea is in the interest of investors, adding that the agreement to be signed in this direction soon will increase the export opportunities of green energy.

Azerbaijan and Romania are cooperating in various spheres of the economy. The two countries established diplomatic relations on June 19, 1992. The Embassy of Romania in Azerbaijan was opened on November 3, 1998, and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Romania on May 19, 2001.

SOCAR operates in Romania through SOCAR Petroleum SA, established in 2011, and owns SOCAR-branded petrol stations in 26 regions of Romania.

The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $215.5 million in 2021, with exports amounting to $120.5 million, and imports to $94.9 million.