BAKU - Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has promised to turn his country into a major supplier of natural gas to European states.
Azerbaijan’s natural gas reserves will allow the country to seriously increase gas exports to Europe within the next decade and remain a key supplier for a century, he said.
"We have large potential. I would like to note that Azerbaijan will act as a leading gas supplier to Europe for at least 100 years," Aliyev said at a business forum in Baku on Monday.
Croatian President Ivo Josipovic attended the event.
Azerbaijan is unhappy with the amount of natural gas it is extracting and exporting today, Aliyev said.
"We will be able to provide our partners with large volumes of gas in 5-6 years’ time" as a result of investment projects worth more than $20 billion, which will be spent, among other matters, on developing gas deposits and building new pipelines, he said.
Azerbaijan will make an important contribution to Europe’s energy security in the coming years, he said.
"From now on, [energy] needs will grow. Bearing in mind EU countries’ decision to shut down NPPs [nuclear power plants], needs for conventional energy sources will grow, and our country, which is located on the Caspian coast, can naturally become a reliable supplier of gas to European consumers," the Azeri president said.
Azerbaijan and the European Union signed a memorandum on gas transportation through the South Corridor last year, Aliyev said, adding that his country "could become a major supplier of this project."
"Our possible cooperation with Black Sea and Mediterranean countries can give us access to the gas market of Europe. It meets our interests, and, in this context, we will be able to start talks in the near future," he said.
