20 June 2023 14:18

On 20 June, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov delivered a speech at the Caspian Connectivity Conference organized by the Caspian Policy Center within the framework of his working visit to the United Kingdom.

In his speech, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov spoke about the irreplaceable opportunities created by the Caspian region, which has an exceptional geographical position. He emphasized that today the importance of transport routes passing from Central Asia, through the Caspian Sea and then through the Caucasus has further increased. He stated that attention is being paid to the diversification and modernization of Azerbaijan’s transport infrastructure, and that a number of transport infrastructure projects are being promoted to strengthen trade and logistics between Europe and Asia.

In his speech, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also emphasized that Azerbaijan is an active initiator and reliable partner in the implementation of a number of other regional connectivity projects, such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable project.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, stating that transit through Azerbaijan increased by 75% in total during 2022, expressed confidence that the opening of all communications will further contribute to lasting peace and stability in our region and will significantly increase trade and transport. In this regard, he spoke about the importance of the Zangezur corridor, which is an initiative coming to the fore and has the potential to further increase connectivity within the Middle Corridor. Despite the efforts made, the difficulties created by Armenia to the opening of communications were highlighted.

The Minister stated that our country has put forward initiatives to expand regional cooperation with a number of countries. In this regard, he spoke about the work carried out within trilateral formats in close cooperation with Türkiye, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and important documents signed.

The speech also mentioned cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan in the field of “green energy,” and confidence was expressed that the launch of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania-Hungary Black Sea submarine cable project will redefine the regional energy map and accelerate the energy transition in participating states.

Azerbaijan’s great offshore wind potential in its part of the Caspian Sea, potential export routes for electricity to Europe in this regard, and the “Azerbaijan Digital Hub” project, which envisages the creation of the “Digital Silk Road,” a digital corridor aimed at creating a new connectivity route between Asia and Europe, were mentioned.

In his speech, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stated that prospects have opened up for the normalization process with Armenia based on mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.

He noted that Azerbaijan is determined to continue moving along the path of development that contributes to building a safer and more prosperous future for the region, and is interested in cooperation with investors from the region and beyond. All partners were invited to support Azerbaijan’s post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.

During the event, Minister Jeyhun Bayramov answered questions from the participants.