Azerbaijan’s investments in OTS member states amount $21.3bn

By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan’s investments in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) member states have amounted to $21.3 billion, while the investments of these countries in Azerbaijan’s economy amounted to $13.8 billion, Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov said.

He made the remarks speaking at the second meeting of the energy ministers of the OTS, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Azernews reports.

He noted that Azerbaijan’s trade turnover with the OTS member states exceeded $4.6 billion.

The minister stressed that since the first meeting of the OTS energy ministers, Azerbaijan contributed to energy cooperation among the Turkic States through the signing of the Shusha declaration with Turkiye, the start of natural gas exchange with Turkmenistan, cooperation on the Dostlug field, the signing of a roadmap covering 30 directions with Uzbekistan, and plans to expand energy partnership with Kazakhstan.

Parviz Shahbazov also noted that the transportation of electricity through Turkiye via the Zangazur corridor and the Black Sea submarine power line, to which Hungary will also connect, will ensure the energy community of the Turkic States, as well as integration with Europe. In this regard, he brought to attention the prospects of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor.

“The role of TANAP and TAP in the diversified and sustainable energy supply made it necessary to renew the EU's strategic energy partnership with Azerbaijan and reach exports to Europe to 20 bcm by 2027. The expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor will not only strengthen the positions of Azerbaijan and Turkiye in ensuring energy security in a wide geographic area but will also allow the fraternal countries to enter new markets,” he said.

In this regard, he noted that since 2021, Turkiye, TANAP, and TAP have been supplied with 9.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas and Europe with more than 16 billion cubic meters.

Moreover, the energy minister emphasized the importance of the Turkic states' participation in the transformation of the Karabakh region into an energy zone, and active cooperation in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

These new steps of Azerbaijan in the energy sector with the Turkic States and the modern energy course will contribute to the realization of energy-related goals in the document “Turkish World Vision-2040”, he added.

"We shared Azerbaijan's contributions at the Meeting of Energy Ministers of #OTS in Almaty. It has been emphasized that the Zangazur Corridor, a strategic initiative of the President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, will ensure the geographical and energy unity of the Turkic world," the minister tweeted.